BAGUIO Representative Mark Go’s push for the expansion of the bed capacity and services of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) has been signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte in the last days of his term.
House Bill 8782, proposed by Go, provides for the expansion of the hospital’s bed capacity to 1,500.
The bill was signed into law as Republic Act 11889.
“With the passing of this bill, BGHMC will be able to deliver higher quality and more accessible health care to everyone in need. The different communities in the entire Northern Luzon will benefit from this advancement in public health.,” Go said.
This isn’t the first time that the BGHMC has had an upgrade in its bed capacity under the initiative of Go.
Previously in 2018, Go filed HB 5442 ‘Increasing the Bed Capacity of BGHMC from 500 to 800’ which was passed and enacted into law by virtue of Republic Act 11084. The bill pushed for the increase of the hospital’s bed capacity from 500 to 800.
However, according to Go, under the current conditions of the pandemic, there is a need to further improve the hospital’s capacity and facilities.
As such, Go is pushing for a further increase in bed capacity for the hospital, from 800 beds to nearly double at 1,500 beds.
He is also pushing for improvements in the services offered by the hospital, which holds a “unique and vital role as a primary hospital in the entire Cordillera and Northern Luzon.”
Part of the push for better services include an expansion of the existing workforce to better assess the hospital’s needs and address the long waiting time of 50 to 100 patients daily in queue.
Go also claims that within the next four years, BGHMC will expand its services to include cardiovascular care, renal care and transplants, lung care, brain and spine care, orthopedia, cancer care, infectious disease and tropical medicine, and mental health services.
The push is intended to provide accessibility to more specialized health services to Regions 1, 2 and CAR residents who previously would have had to travel to Metro Manila for access to these medical needs.
