March 19, 2024

To address the hospital’s over-capacity and to be able to admit more patients, Baguio City Rep. Mark Go has filed a bill that sought to increase the bed capacity of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) to 1,500 from 800 beds.
Go filed House Bill 8782, which sought to add 700 beds to BGHMC after the hospital was forced to reduce patient admission due to Department of Health’s protocols on the Covid-19 pandemic.
From March to December 2020, the hospital’s average occupancy rate was only at 45.33 percent, the lawmaker said.
Go said the hospital records a waiting list of 50 to 100 patients every day due to the limited bed capacity.
This hinders BGHMC’s ability and efficiency to provide quality public health services to its patients, of whom 80 percent are indigent, he said.
Go was also the author of RA 11084, which increased BGHMC’s bed capacity from 500 to 800.
Go said the hospital’s additional 300 beds at the time only accommodated the prevailing situation, and was not equipped to handle any large-scale public health crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
He cited BGHMC’s crucial role as a regional apex hospital and premier referral center for the Cordillera and Northern Luzon, offering leading-edge specialty services for the aforementioned regions.
Go said this highlights the need to invest in the hospital’s capacity-building to ensure preparedness and top-notch responsiveness for future public health crises.
“Filipinos from regions 1, 2, and Cordillera would no longer have to travel to Metro Manila to avail of quality specialty services, which would entail additional costs and inconvenience to the ordinary people,” he said.
Go said BGHMC is set to fully implement 15 specialty programs over the next four years, including cardiovascular care, renal care and transplant, lung care, brain and spine care, orthopedic center, cancer care, infectious disease and tropical medicine, and mental health, among others. The hospital also trains 211 residents over 16 specialized fields. – Press release