Multi-Specialty Hospital, itatayo sa Clark, Pampanga

SISIMULAN na  ngayong buwan ang pagtatayo ng bagong medical specialty center na magsisilbi sa Central at Northern Luzon.

Inanunsyo ni Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa na handa na ang groundbreaking para sa itatayong Clark Multi-Specialty Hospital sa darating na Hulyo 17.

Ang nasabing ospital ay itatayo sa ilalim ng Executive Order No. 19, ipinalabas ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., inatasan ang pagtatayo ng Philippine Heart Center sa Clark Freeport Zone.

“It will be starting as a general hospital and then (it will) move up to a children’s hospital, and then a cardiac specialty, then the kidney specialty,” ani Herbosa.

Ang nasabi aniyang proyekto ay may kahalintulad na plano gaya ng  public specialty hospitals sa Quezon City.

Sa oras na makumpleto na ang proyekto, ang mga pasyente sa  Central at Northern Luzon ay hindi na kailangan pang bumiyahe patungong Kalakhang Maynila para makakuha lamang ng “specialized medical services.”

“It will just be like what we have in the North Triangle of Quezon City, wherein you have all the different specialties, and (this time) it will be in that corridor in Clark. That will cover Central and Northern Luzon cases of heart, lung, kidney, and even cancer,” aniya pa rin.

Sa kabilang dako, matagal ng panahon ani Herbosa ang pagsisikap ng Department of Health (DoH) na i-replicate ang  specialty hospitals sa  ibang  lugar sa bansa, simula nang ipasa ang Sin Tax Law na nakatulong para pondohan ang programa sa  healthcare sector.

Tinukoy naman nito ang Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) Heart, Lung, and Kidney Center, at Davao City’s Southern Philippines Medical Center  na mayroon ding specialty services.

“Many of these places that have been built through the sin tax money have now eye centers, dermatology centers, cancer centers but it’s not getting the news. But the services are now available to people outside Metro Manila,” ayon kay Herbosa.

Ang proyekto aniya pa rin ay isasagawa sa ilalim ng Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

“We’re harnessing the private sector. I’d like to commend the private sector—they’ve been helping us a lot, reaching out, (saying) that they’re willing to help. The government alone can’t do it. The private sector also has a role in improving our health services and specialty services,” ani Herbosa. (Daris Jose)