BATANG MAYNILA By MAYOR ISKO MORENO Manila Mayor Isko Moreno The fact that I was raised and grew up in the slums of Manila makes me fully understand how important free health care is, specially for those who are sick and do not have the money to seek medical treatment or even buy a single pill. Guided by this sad reality that continues to cause suffering among the less privileged particularly of Manila, I and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, who exercises supervision over the six city-run hospitals, recently held a meeting with the health  personnel comprising the Manila Health Department under Dr. Arnold ‘Poks’ Pangan to discuss how to further strengthen the city’s health care system. Present were the directors of the six city hospitals and heads of health centers, lying-in clinics as well as the city’s  doctors and nurses. Included in the plans that were presented by Dr. Pangan at the first health cluster meeting is the building of what will be called “super health centers” in each of Manila’s six districts, with the end in view of encouraging less fortunate residents to avail of the healthcare services being offered to them for free via the centers.  Each of the “super health centers” will have the usual consultation, laboratories and animal bite clinic, among others. Two to three of such centers will be put in each of the city’s six districts. Each center will have a diabetes clinic, a halfway home for cancer patients, cough center (COPD, asthma), autism and cerebral palsy clinic, women’s wellness center, adolescent counseling clinic, treatment hub for HIV/AIDS patients, and a mental health clinic. In some of the centers will also have one-stop shops for some city transactions in an effort to ease congestion at the Manila City Hall. It is for this reason that I have asked those in charge of hospitals and health centers to come up with specific, updated data regarding the types of illnesses, volume of patients per illness and all other details regarding those they attend to on a day-to-day basis, including health issues that are seasonal in nature. Now if they have the specifics, good for them. Otherwise, it means that they are either out of their office most of the time or are not in total control of their area of responsibility. We need these data to guide the city government as to the kinds of supplies that should be purchased relative to caring for the health of Manila residents. To me and the vice mayor, it is very important that we get the most out of the people’s money. We do not want to waste the people’s money on buying the wrong kinds of medicinal supplies. We have to make sure that what we buy is exactly what is needed by the people of Manila. I long for the day when the basic needs of patients will be addressed at the level of health centers alone. I grew up poor and knowing fully well  the importance of health centers. With the help of our able health personnel, we wish to bring back the dignity of health centers and declog our hospitals which should be meant to attend to more serious cases. In the same breadth, we also plan to give dignity to our health workers by providing them with free temporary residences via a vertical housing program that will be situated in the same building where some of the ‘super health centers’ will be built. We want to uplift the standards of our employees and thus opted to choose at least some areas just to begin with, so that our health workers, from administrative workers to doctors, could have a place that they could call their own while they serve the city. The plan is aimed at uplifting the standards of the MHD employees so that they could perform much better. Too, what we want to do is to be more efficient in the delivery of basic services. The three minimum basic needs are healthcare, education, and housing. When we build a housing for the health center, it would be a two-bedroom design. As long as one remains in the service, he can use the temporary residence but the day the concerned employee retires, he has to vacate the housing and pass this on to others who are still in the service and so on and so forth. All we ask in return is for our health personnel to always give a caring service with a smile, specially in the light of the fact that the people they encounter every day are the poor ones, since those who have the money will not go to public hospitals to seek medical help. *** Walang mag mamalasakit sa Maynila kundi tayo ding mga Batang Maynila. Manila, God first! ***                                                                     For updates on latest developments in the city of Manila, please visit my Facebook account --- ‘Isko Moreno Domagoso.’