Gasataya files bill creating Bacolod-Negros heart, kidney center

BACOLOD City Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya has filed House Bill (HB) 2686, creating the Bacolod-Negros heart and kidney center and appropriating funds thereof.

Gasataya said Thursday, August 13, 2020, HB 2686 was already approved by the House Committee on Health.

He said cardiovascular and kidney diseases remain the top causes of death in the country today. Over 276 Filipinos die from a heart attack every day and 28,215 regularly undergo dialysis because of kidney problems, placing heart diseases as the top killer disease and kidney problems as the 7th top cause of morbidity and 8th of mortality in the country.

“While there has been significant improvement in the quality of medical services that the state provides, issues in terms of accessibility due to financial and geographical constraints still remain. Patients suffering from cardiovascular and kidney disease from all over the county are often faced with no other choice but to go to the Philippine Heart Center and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Metro Manila just to avail of specialized medical assistance from the government due to lack of local facilities that can accommodate their medical needs,” he added.

Gasataya noted that the deficiency on tertiary (level 3) government medical facilities places an additional burden on patients, especially the poor through added expenses such as travel fare, lodging and miscellaneous expenditures.

In the case of Negros Occidental, Gasataya said only two government-owned dialysis centers and a lone tertiary government hospital cater to thousands of patients with cardiovascular and kidney diseases in the province. Patients in need of delicate procedures are left obligated to travel to Metro Manila.

“This bill, therefore, seeks to address the aforementioned issues and make quality medical care and services more accessible by establishing a center for heart and kidney diseases in the City of Bacolod, Province of Negros Occidental,” he said.

Section 4 of HB 2686 states that the purposes and objectives of the center are to construct, establish, operate and maintain a heart and kidney center for the public welfare, including a specialized heart and kidney hospital.

The bill also aims to promote, encourage, and engage in medical and scientific research relative to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and kidney diseases and the care and/or treatment of heart and kidney patients and related activities; to stimulate and/or underwire scientific researches on the biological, demographic, social, economic, eugenic, physiological aspects of kidney and cardiovascular disorders and abnormalities and their control; and to encourage and/or undertake the training of physicians, nurses, medical technicians, health officers and social workers on the practical and scientific conduct and implementation of kidney and cardiac services, and related activities.