BARMM lawmaker files bills upgrading hospitals in BARMM

COTABATO CITY – Separate bills seeking to “convert and upgrade hospital facilities” in Lanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi have been introduced to the plenary.

Parliament Bill No. 99 or “Conversion of Tamparan District Hospital (TDH) to Provincial Hospital Act of 2021”, Parliament Bill No. 100 or Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital (DHSMH) Upgrade Act of 2021”, and Parliament Bill No. 102 or “Balindong Hospital Upgrade Act of 2021” were authored by Dr. Saffrulah Dipatuan, to improve healthcare services in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 

TDH will be converted into Lanao del Sur Provincial Hospital under Bill No. 99. It also aims to upgrade the hospital’s facilities and professional healthcare services by increasing its bed capacity to 150.

TDH has served about 4,000 patients each year from various towns in Lanao del Sur during the previous five years.

“With the increasing population of the province, and TDH being the most accessible hospital and strategically located to cater the needs of the people of the province, it is appropriate for it to be converted into a provincial hospital,” Dipatuan wrote in the explanatory note.

He added that by upgrading the said district hospital, the Bangsamoro government would meet the health needs of the region’s most marginalized sector.

On the other hand, under Bill No. 100, the bed capacity of Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital (DHSMH) will be upgraded to 100 beds.

Based on the Ministry of Health-BARMM annual hospital statistical report, the DHSMH bed occupancy reached 237 percent in 2019, way above its current 25-bed capacity load.

Dipatuan said the upgrade is necessary to accommodate Tawi-Tawi residents who need to take 16-hour boat ride and flight just to seek medical attention to the nearest Level 2 medical facility in Zamboanga City.

Moreover, under Bill No. 102, the capacity of the Balindong Municipal Hospital will be upgraded to 50 beds.

The bill also suggests that the Minister of Health, who is authorized to determine and approve the appropriate organizational structure for the management and operations of the hospital, shall oversee the hospital’s operations.

Dipatuan noted that there is a need to improve the quality of healthcare services by upgrading it from level 1 with a 10-bed capacity to level 2 with a 50-bed capacity to cater and sustain the needs of increasing patients in Balindong Municipal Hospital. (PUBLICATION AND MEDIA RELATIONS DIVISION / MINDANAO EXPOSE’)