Govt hospitals in dengue-hit QC to suffer budget cuts

Government hospitals in Quezon City, where the highest number of dengue cases in Metro Manila has been recorded, will suffer the biggest budget cuts next year based on the allocation proposed by the Department of Health (DOH), the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) said on Wednesday. In a statement, HEAD secretary-general Dr. Geneve Rivera said the East Avenue Medical Center, which has an overflow of dengue patients, will get a P27 million budget cut in its operational funds in 2011. Likewise, the budget for the Quirino Memorial Medical Center, which has admitted dengue patients up to three times its capacity, will be reduced by P10 million, the group said. The National Children’s Hospital will also get a P3 million budget slash. Even the total proposed 2011 budget for the DOH — P32 billion — is not enough for the department to combat infectious diseases like dengue, Rivera said.

She said based on a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the DOH should have a budget of at least P90 billion to finance its operations next year. The report — “Health Financing Strategy for the Asia Pacific Region (2010-2015)" — recommends that “total health expenditure per country should be at least 4%-5% of gross domestic product (GDP)." “The allocation for health is still way below what is necessary to meet the needs of Filipinos," said Rivera. DOH figures show that around 500 of the over 700,000 dengue patients recorded from January this year had died of the infectious disease. The number of cases is almost two times higher than last year’s. “There is a need to re-emphasize preventive and primary care programs instead of just relying on curative health care services, especially for infectious diseases like dengue," Rivera said. HEAD is recommending a budget of P 25 billion in 2011 for preventive and public health programs, and health promotion, which includes P5 billion for infectious diseases like dengue. The current budget is only P223.8 million and is the same for 2011. “Health problems like dengue and other infectious diseases are primarily addressed at the community level. Preventive programs like sanitation and hygiene, and primary care programs like home nursing care and the right recognition of serious illnesses, are needed in places where people live," Rivera said. - KBK, GMANews.TV