Category: Medical

Indigenous people (IP) communities in this town will soon be able to access the nearest health facility and services of the government with the establishment of a super health center. On Tuesday, Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, together with Agusan del Norte Governor Maria Angelica Rosedell Amante, and Mayor Karen Rosales led the groundbreaking ceremony of a super health center in Barangay Mat-i here. ‘This health facility will serve at least ten barangays in Las Nieves mostly populated by the Manobo and Higaonon tribes,’ said Hawudon Armando Una, the IP Mandatory Representative of Las Nieves, in an interview at the sideline of the groundbreaking ceremony. Una thanked Sen. Go and the leaders of the town and province for addressing the health needs of the IP communities through the establishment of a super health center. In a separate interview, Dr. Rosemarie Dolores Ruela, municipal health officer, said wider health services will be provided by the super health center in the locality. ‘The super health center will offer diagnostics and advanced facilities to include x-ray, ultrasound, and pediatric services,’ Ruela said, adding that the center will also offer minor surgeries, dental services, and serve as a birthing facility. Go said the establishment of super health centers in the country is among his priorities as the chair of the Senate’s Committee on Health. ‘We target to put up 322 super health centers for this year across the country. Agusan del Norte will have four of these centers including Butuan City,’ the senator said. He added that his office is also pushing for more Malasakit Centers, which currently has 157 facilities in the country. In Agusan del Norte, super health centers will also be established in Santiago town, Cabadbaran City, and Barangay Ambago in Butuan City. Rosales said the establishment of a super health center has been the dream of the residents here. ‘The construction of this health facility will commence and soon will provide adequate health services for our people, especially those coming from the geographically isolated and conflict-affected areas,’ she said. AICS assistance While here, Go also led the distribution of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) payout on Tuesday afternoon in Barangay Mat-i. Some 1,500 residents of Las Nieves received PHP3,000 each in financial assistance through the AICS for a total of PHP4.5 million. Among those who received the assistance was Buenvenido Bedida Jr., 56, a farmer from Barangay Durian. ‘The recent calamities, especially the flooding affected my farm and brought some difficulties to my family,’ Bedida said. Maria Luz Benocilla, 51, a mother of seven also got her AICS assistance on Tuesday and was thankful to the government for always being with the people in times of difficulties.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Residents of 720 barangays in Albay province will soon benefit from the distribution of medical supplies and services by the provincial government. In an interview, Lorena Quising, Albay provincial information officer, said this is part of Governor Edcel Greco Lagman’s five-point development agenda prioritizing health care services for all Albayanos. “The medical supplies are ready and will be distributed to the 15 towns and three cities in Albay this June. Every barangay will receive a blood pressure monitor, portable weighing scale, nebulizer and medicines. They will have access to the basic health equipment needed in every village. They don’t need to go to hospitals just to know their blood pressure or if they need to use a nebulizer for asthmatic patients,” Quising said. She said representatives of the Barangay Facilities and Services Office (BFSO) under the Office of the Governor visited and conducted a consultation with different barangay officials to determine the needs of the villagers. “Our barangay health workers (BHW) can get accurate data using the medical supplies. Documentation and reporting will be made easier and health services will be given immediately, particularly for far-flung barangays in the province,” Quising said. In a statement, BFSO on Barangay Affairs chief Divine Bañares said the supplies and equipment will provide quality health services to residents of the 720 barangays in the province. “These donations will aid the operations of the health facilities, strengthen the health system, and be able to better respond to the health needs of the community,” Bañares said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Health Ministry (MOH) has identified 39 dilapidated clinics in Kelantan for repairs this year, involving an allocation of RM9.6 million.

Its minister, Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the list includes eight rural clinics, 18 health clinics and 13 dental clinics, and to ensure the repairs are done well, the ministry has established a task force to monitor the implementation in each state.

“During my working visit to Kelantan previously, I had the chance of looking at the conditions of several of the clinics.

“May all the projects go smoothly for the benefit of healthcare workers and to boost the quality of service to Malaysians,” she posted on her Facebook page today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The first-ever super health center (SHC) in Davao del Sur province broke ground on Monday at Barangay Zone 3 here. Set to be completed in September this year, the SHC aims to provide comprehensive basic health services to the people, including the outpatient department, laboratory, X-ray, ultrasound, birthing services, diagnostic, pharmacy, and emergency services. The PHP11.5-million health facility, with an allotment of PHP6.5 million for the building and PHP5 million for equipment, is funded by the Department of Health (DOH) under its health facility enhancement program. Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, who led the groundbreaking, said the SHC will help decongest the public hospital in the province. ‘You can expand the health center like putting dialysis machines. This is one way of making the medical services closer to the people,’ he said in his speech. Other components, particularly the maintenance operation and staffing of the SHCs, will be shouldered by the local government. Mayor Josef Fortich Cagas thanked the DOH for the project and the senator for pushing the creation of the SHC. ‘Deepest gratitude and appreciation to DOH and Senator Go for putting the project to fruition. This project helps us in making Digos the city of choice,’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation in Western Visayas Region (PhilHealth-6) continues to campaign for members to register and avail of the Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (KonSulTa) package for expanded primary care benefits. ‘Konsulta package is for early disease detection and prevention. If the primary care benefit package is duly maximized we are looking at our members being more aware of their health conditions,’ Janimhe C. Jalbuna, PhilHealth-6 public affairs unit head, said in an interview on Monday. As of April this year, some 1,446,795 out of the 2,409,911 target in the region have registered for the program. However, only 33,035 have their first patient encounter (FPE) or have sought their first consultation with accredited health providers. Jalbuna said they always explain to patients not to wait for their disease to progress and instead opt for early detection for appropriate intervention. The outpatient package includes consultation, 13 laboratory examinations, and 21 drugs and medicines with prescriptions, which are free for members and their dependents. On June 3, an additional 80 members had their successful first patient encounter during the KonSulTa registration and profiling at the Iloilo Convention Center simultaneous with the nationwide summit as part of PhilHealth’s 28th-anniversary celebration. The registration was joined by four accredited health facilities in the city, including the newly accredited Molo and Mandurriao health offices of Iloilo City. ‘It was more on health profiling and health screening. They were consulted by medical doctors, so they availed of the benefit,’ Jalbuna said. As of April 30, PhilHealth has accredited 122 KonSulTa providers in the region while 13 are in process. Each provider is expected to cater to around 20,000 members and dependents.

Source: Philippines News Agency

A 48-year-old father was killed while his two daughters suffered injuries when a Perodua Kancil they were travelling in plunged into a ravine in Kg Layangan here tonight.

The deceased identified as Abd Rashid Bahari was pronounced dead at the scene while his eight-year-old daughter Nur Aqeesha and Nor Izah Batrisyah,10, sustained injuries in the 8pm accident on Friday (June 2).

Layangan Fire Station chief said Huzyman Malikin they received a call about the accident at 8.26pm and a team was quickly deployed.

He said firemen had a tough time getting the deceased out of the vehicle as the front part of the car was badly damaged.

“We handed over the body to the police for further action,” he said.

He said operations ceased at 9.25pm after firemen checked and swept the area of any hazardous elements.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also Head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, chaired the committee’s 20th meeting via teleconference with all 63 provinces and centrally-run cities of the country.

According to the committee, Vietnam has so far recorded over 11.5 million COVID-19 infections, including more than 43,100 deaths, equivalent to 0.37% of the total caseload.

Currently, the rate of hospitalised COVID-19 patients is lower than that of some Group B infectious diseases, and the rate of severe cases is equal to or lower than that of some Group B infectious diseases such as dengue fever and hand-foot-mouth disease.

Participants at the meeting said that COVID-19 had met the criteria for Group B infectious diseases as prescribed in Point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.

Accordingly, it is necessary for the Government, ministries, agencies and localities to adjust regulations, policies and requirements in line with the new situation as well as review issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in the past three years.

PM Chinh stressed that the numbers of infections and fatalities have decreased sharply compared to the figures in 2021 and 2022. However, the announcement of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic will be made in accordance with the law, and there will be other adjustments, he said.

According to the PM, in the coming time, the COVID-19 pandemic will not come to an end its consequences will still linger, therefore, pandemic prevention and control work must be continued. It is necessary to improve the capacity of grassroots and preventive healthcare systems, overcome the aftermath of the pandemic and continue to stablise the lives of people, especially those directly affected by COVID-19.

He assigned the Ministry of Health to guide other ministries, sectors and localities to review the prevention and control work, adjust related legal documents in line with the new situation, build plans to sustainably control COVID-19 in the new period as well as other epidemics that are likely to appear, and continue proper COVID-19 vaccinations.

The PM also asked relevant ministries and agencies to continue mobilising and utilising resources for COVID-19 prevention and control, overcoming the consequences of the pandemic and carrying out social security activities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency