Half of Mindanao hospitals not yet mercury-free

MANILA, Philippines - Half of the health care facilities in Mindanao have not complied with the order of the Department of Health (DOH) to phase out mercury-based medical equipment by September this year, the Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) said yesterday.

HCWH-SEA program officer Faye Ferrer said the compliance rate in Mindanao region with DOH Administrative Order 2008-0021 is “close to passing mark.”

In a report, the HCWH-SEA said only 269 of the 497 hospitals in Mindanao responded to its survey, and of this number, 46 percent “are already phasing out mercury.”

This means that Mindanao is ahead of Luzon and the Visayas, which posted 41 and 20 percent compliance rates, respectively.

“We are happy with this result. Taking into consideration the geographical location of Mindanao which is far from the DOH central office, the turnout of respondents, as well as the close to 50 percent mercury phaseout status is exemplary,” Ferrer said.

But Ferrer said the DOH should “not be lax with the result” since there is still another 50 percent that needs support to eliminate devices with mercury like thermometer and blood pressure apparatus.