Junjun Binay eyes new hospital in Makati's second district

MANILA, Philippines - Makati mayoralty bet Jejomar Erwin Binay bared his plan to build a new hospital in the first district to be managed by the private sector.

Binay said his administration will prioritize the construction of a tertiary hospital in the first district that will complement the Ospital ng Makati (Osmak) in Barangay Pembo in the city’s second district, in order to provide residents better access to quality health care. He also said leading private hospitals like Makati Medical Center will be asked to manage these public facilities.

“We recognize the need for a second tertiary hospital strategically located in the first district so that we can provide more timely and adequate medical care to all our constituents,” he said.

“With the new hospital, we expect a substantial reduction in the patient volume at Osmak-Pembo that will bring down the patient-to-doctor ratio to more manageable levels, and subsequently result in more efficient and effective health-care delivery in Makati,” Binay said. Binay, who heads Makati Rescue, said he was well aware of the congestion problem at Osmak often caused by the heavy influx of emergency patients that include non-residents, which has often stretched the hospital’s capacity to its limits.

“The Osmak in Pembo has become a ‘catchment area’ where victims of vehicular accidents and other life-threatening incidents that occur daily not only in Makati but in the neighboring localities of Taguig, Pateros, Pasig and Mandaluyong are brought in by our rescue teams for emergency treatment,” Binay said.

He also said the city government has initiated talks with the management of the Makati Medical Center in line with its plan to elevate to world-class standards the operations of the Ospital ng Makati and its free-standing emergency facility, Makati Acute Care Center in Bel-Air.                                 

The councilor said he intends to see to it that the new hospital will be outfitted with state-of-the-art medical equipment and staffed by a full complement of credentialed doctors, nurses and support personnel who are capable of delivering the best medical services to the people of Makati.

“My administration will promptly put to good use the healthy fiscal status and good credit standing Makati has gained under my father’s leadership, and avail ourselves of bank loans to fund the project,” Binay said.

At present, the six-storey Osmak Pembo with a 206-bed capacity is the only public hospital in the city that provides free outpatient consultations and highly subsidized, even totally free, hospitalization services to residents, particularly members of the Makati Health Plus Program, better known as Yellow Card. Under the program, the city’s indigent and low income residents, city government workers, senior citizens, and even domestic helpers of residents have enjoyed quality yet affordable, even free, medical services through substantial subsidies from city government coffers.

The city-run hospital also holds the distinction of being the country’s first local government hospital with an Emergency Department accredited by the Philippine College of Emergency Medicine. It currently serves as the base hospital to the Makati Acute Care Center, the first medical facility dedicated solely to emergency cases in the Philippines.