The Right to Health Care

The dogs were very noisy, someone was calling out my name. it was 1.15am, I was wondering what was happening. Upon opening the door, one of our neighbor, an old man, asked me to please bring his son to the hospital. as usual this is my role in the community in time of emergencies, since I am the only one in the community with car. I immediately changed my clothes and went outside. I saw the patient being assisted by his cousins and I could sense the seriousness of the situation. We immediately jumped into the car and the car did not start. this has been my difficulty for a month already and I realized that the patient I was bringing to the hospital is my friend mechanic whom I will call whenever I have a problem  starting my car. I was praying deep inside for the car to cooperate, and after 5 attempts it started and with a great relief we run to the hospital. Since the wife was with us, I asked to which hospital to bring since there is a nearer private hospital, the wife told me they have no money, so I understood immediately where to bring, to the public hospital, and I have to prepare myself also in case they really have no money, to use the amount intended for my kid's allowance and that always caused friction with my wife. When we arrived in this public hospital, there were many people around, but no hospital employee  assisted us. It seemed everybody in the vicinity is already numb of the situation. I was frantic calling for the assistance of the guard to give us a strecher, but to no avail. The wife run inside and brought out a wheelchair and I could see at the back that the patient is immobile already. 

Inside the emergency room, there were many people, most are pediatric cases. I can count more than 10, and all crying, all the beds are occupied, and the last one to occupy for the stretcher was our patient. Nobody seemed to care us. I went to someone in the counter, I did not know she was a doctor because they were not in uniform and beg for quick attention while the wife was busy wiping the sweat of the motionless patient and the other 2 male companions we have, busy observing around in their tattered dresses. She told me she was a pediatric doctor and she is not incharge of the adult and I could not disturb her. I noticed Nursing students around busy with their notetaking, I asked one of them to take vital signs of our patients which she obliged. 

I noticed there was no immmediate attention to our patients. I could not blame the hospital personnel for I could observed they are very overworked. They tried to attend to everybody lying there. When a Post graduate doctor attended us, the first volley of questioning started, but we have to pay first before we will be attended which the receipt should be shown to them first. Finally, the medical prescription was given, I volunteered to buy it for them. I went to the hospital pharmacy thinking I could bring one immediately of course after paying, only to be told I have to go to the cashier first for payment which was on another building just in front, and there was 8 people on line. There was a wait while I was thinking what is going on inside the emergency room. I found out that what I was buying was only a dextrose.

When the sister and the brother of the patient arrived, they decided to transfer to a private hospital. After negotiations, we transferred to the private hospital, and upon arrival it was very quiet and there was only 2 patients there. They immediately take good care of our patients and a doctor quickly diagnosed and observed the patients who seemed to be happy seeing his brother and sister. I went home almost 4 o clock in the morning and I was struggling to go back to sleep again remembering how the hospital personnel in the private hospital revived the dying patient with all the gadgets and personnel in the room available, while the woman patient at the side of us in the government hospital was left unattended, I do not know the reason, her companion a young lady, with tears flowing in her eyes just watching the woman, as we were going out to transfer, the doctor who was with us, turn to them, and I could hear the patient herself saying with half awake eyes said "we will just go home."

I am sharing this becasue there is really a problem with our health care system, the public health care system particularly. The contrast is very glaring. That is why the joke goes around" if you want to die early, go to the public hospital". This situation makes me sad and angry. The dispararity between the rich and the poor can be seen clearly in the health care situation. According to the UN standard, 5% of the national budget should go to Health services but in our case, it is way way below the percentage. Even if everybody has PHILHEALTH if our public hospital services are not improved, it is still a pitiful situation. 

I have a little background on our public health care system when I was the spokesman of the Hospital Watch. But thats another story. I hope our new president can improve our health system. It is one of our basic right.