Bong Go urges DOH to capacitate hospitals nationwide
Published Mar 26, 2020 12:00 am
By Mario Casayuran
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go Thursday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to immediately equip and capacitate hospitals and designate testing centers in areas outside Luzon so they could immediately detect cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in their respective regions.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go
(Senator Christopher “Bong” Go official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) Go, chairman of the Senate health and demography committee, specified that health institutions in the Visayas and Mindanao be given the needed medical equipment to test suspected COVID-19 cases, particularly in far-flung areas with limited resources. ‘’For our agencies of government, especially DOH, the President has assured that we have sufficient funds for the protection of the health of the Filipinos, especially at this time that there is a COVID-19 outbreak,” he said. Go also said he wants to help medical institutions cope with the situation by providing much needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and test kits to select capable centers nationwide. With the enactment of the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,’’ DOH should be able to mobilize resources and manpower immediately, he pointed out. As stated in the law, emergency measures in response to the pandemic should include adopting and implementing measures to “suppress further transmission and spread of COVID-19 through effective education, detection, protection, and treatment.” In addition, the law also provides that “DOH shall prioritize the allocation and distribution of the aforesaid goods, supplies, and other resources” to public health facilities in the regions, provinces, or cities that are designated as COVID-19 referral hospitals; private hospitals that have existing COVID-19 capacities; and public and private laboratories that have existing capacities to test suspected COVID-19 patients. ‘’We will ensure that we can implement this properly while mobilizing immediately and efficiently because this pandemic is time-critical,” Go emphasized.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go(Senator Christopher “Bong” Go official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) Go, chairman of the Senate health and demography committee, specified that health institutions in the Visayas and Mindanao be given the needed medical equipment to test suspected COVID-19 cases, particularly in far-flung areas with limited resources. ‘’For our agencies of government, especially DOH, the President has assured that we have sufficient funds for the protection of the health of the Filipinos, especially at this time that there is a COVID-19 outbreak,” he said. Go also said he wants to help medical institutions cope with the situation by providing much needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and test kits to select capable centers nationwide. With the enactment of the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,’’ DOH should be able to mobilize resources and manpower immediately, he pointed out. As stated in the law, emergency measures in response to the pandemic should include adopting and implementing measures to “suppress further transmission and spread of COVID-19 through effective education, detection, protection, and treatment.” In addition, the law also provides that “DOH shall prioritize the allocation and distribution of the aforesaid goods, supplies, and other resources” to public health facilities in the regions, provinces, or cities that are designated as COVID-19 referral hospitals; private hospitals that have existing COVID-19 capacities; and public and private laboratories that have existing capacities to test suspected COVID-19 patients. ‘’We will ensure that we can implement this properly while mobilizing immediately and efficiently because this pandemic is time-critical,” Go emphasized.