Bill increasing BGHMC beds to 1,500 authored by Rep. Mark Go is now a law

The bill that seeks to increase the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center’s (BGHMC) bed capacity from 800 to 1500 beds has been signed into law by President Duterte.

Republic Act (RA) 11889 mandates the addition of 700 more beds to BGHMC, ensuring that patients, more than 70 percent of whom are indigent, will receive quality healthcare from the hospital.

This law mandates the upgrade of healthcare services, equipment, and facilities and an increase in medical personnel. This law also serves as a pivotal move to develop BGHMC’s capacity building and preparedness in the advent of another public health crisis.

This is now the second law that Rep. Mark Go has authored a paper that sought the increase in BGHMC’s bed capacity. In 2018, BGHMC’s bed capacity was first increased from 500 to 800 beds which helped battle the COVID-19 pandemic. This brings BGHMC’s total bed capacity up by 200 percent throughout Rep. Go’s six-year congressional term.

According to Rep. Go, 15 specialty programs will also be implemented in full over the next four years. These include cardiovascular care, renal care and transplant, lung care, brain and spine care, orthopedic center, cancer care, infectious disease and tropical medicine, and mental health, among others.

“BGHMC caters not only to residents of Baguio and CAR, but also for patients coming from Regions 1 and 2. Many of our kababayans from the North simply do not have the means to go to the big hospitals in Manila to receive quality and comprehensive medical and healthcare services. We in the North also deserve access to a wider array of highly specialized medical services and this provides just that,” Cong. Go said in a speech delivered in the Senate. PR