Hospitals eye release of autoclave funds

CEBU, Philippines - Hospitals all over the country together with Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) sent a letter to Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III urging him to find ways to see the release of the P100-million budget for autoclaves for the treatment of infectious medical waste.

HCWH is a global coalition of more than 400 organizations in more than 50 countries working to protect health by reducing pollution in the healthcare sector. 

 Under the General Appropriations Act of 2008, P100 million was appropriated for autoclaves for medical waste treatment in the budget approved for the DOH. 

An autoclave is a heavy vessel designed for conducting chemical reactions under high pressure.

However, to date, the project is awaiting House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Secretary Junie Cua’s and Speaker Prospero Nograles‘s endorsements for the fund’s release by the Department of Budget and Management.

“The Philippine Congress has responded to the need for the treatment of infectious medical waste by appropriating the money for it in 2008. The DOH should actively work to access the fund that has been made available to it,” said Ronnel Lim, HCWH-SEA Anti-Incineration Program officer.

 Autoclaves use steam under pressure to treat materials contaminated with blood, as well as surgery waste, laboratory waste, and soft waste from hospitals.

Since the use of incinerators to dispose medical wastes has been banned by the 1999 Clean Air Act, the autoclave is among the accepted methods to treat waste.

According to a World Health Organization report, waste produced by healthcare facilities carries a higher potential for infection and injury than any other kind of waste.

“DOH’s National Center for Health Facility Development has already identified the hospitals that could host the autoclaves that could treat the waste of several hospitals within a catchment area,” said Lim.

Although the third highest allocation in the 2008 GAA, health budget accounts only for 1.25 percent of the total budget. For 2009, health budget is less than one-tenth of debt interest.

 “Considering that health budget is already very limited, the last thing we want to happen is for an appropriated budget to end up unreleased,” said Lim.

 In 2008, an Impoundment Control bill was filed at the lower house to stop the president from transferring appropriated funds that were not released from one agency to another.

 Unreleased funds automatically revert back to the national treasury and thus may be appropriated to other agencies/projects as deemed necessary by the president.

Appropriated funds may not be released if the agency fails to comply with the documentary requirements of the DBM.

 “Thus we are urging Speaker Nograles and Committee Chair Cua and the DBM to do all the necessary steps to expedite the release of the fund,” Lim said, “we also urge the DOH to seriously follow-up on the release of funds for the autoclave project.” — Johanna T. Natavio/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)