CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) – To respond to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call for accessible, community-based healthcare services, the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) shared that it has operationalized two Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Services (BUCAS) centers in Central Luzon from 2024.
JBLMGH Medical Center Chief Dr. Monserrat Chichioco said the first-ever and largest BUCAS facility established in the country in 2024 is located in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga; while another one was put up in Victoria, Tarlac this year.
“Mula nang nagsimula ang administrasyon, ito ang tinutukan natin [serbisyong medikal], kasama ng edukasyon at pagsugpo sa kahirapan. Nariyan ang 53 BUCAS centers sa 32 lalawigan sa bansa. May libreng check-up, x-ray, lab tests, at iba pa. Ito ay para sa agarang serbisyong outpatient na hindi na kailangang magpa-confine pa sa ospital. (Since the beginning of the administration, this has been our focus [medical services], along with education and poverty alleviation. Fifty-three BUCAS centers have been established in thirty-two provinces in the country. There are free check-ups, x-rays, lab tests, and so on. This is for immediate outpatient services that do not require confinement in a hospital),” Marcos Jr. said in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA).
This directive, which the President also emphasized in his previous SONAs, pushed the Department of Health (DOH) to start the BUCAS center initiative.
“I can still remember it, his [President] first SONA, he said that he wants the medical services to reach all Filipinos. So that’s where the concept of the establishment of BUCAS Center came in. The BUCAS Center became the initiative of the DOH through the brainchild of Secretary Herbosa. He saw this in other countries where there are polyclinics,” Chichioco shared.
The BUCAS centers are designed to mirror hospital-level services while being situated closer to communities to help decongest apex hospital’s outpatient department and emergency rooms, like that of JBLMGH.
The centers usually cater to 350 to 500 patients daily and are equipped with diagnostic services like CT scan, ultrasound, x-ray, laboratories, pharmacies, and urgent care units.
“Our ambulatory patients can now avail these medical services without the need to go to the hospital. Our centers also include specialty satellite clinics for chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and tumor-related illnesses.There are also dedicated clinics for women’s wellness, pediatric health, and family care, providing nearly complete outpatient services excluding admissions,” Chichioco said.
To further expand accessibility, JBLMGH has also integrated telemedicine, online appointment systems, and electronic prescription services to ensure that even remote areas benefit from efficient and streamlined care.
In addition, the hospital chief said they also extended the Animal Bite Treatment Center (ABTC) to the BUCAS center.
“Through this, we were able to decongest from 500. The 100 patients who need to be checked up are already being taken care of at the BUCAS centers,” she said.
Other critical programs like the TB DOTS [Direct Observed Treatment Therapy] clinic and HIV care under the Bahay Lingad have also been expanded to these centers.
Recently, the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT) 46 also opened a makeshift hospital at the BUCAS center in Sto. Tomas town to cater to patients from the town and nearby flood-affected municipalities including Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Apalit, in response to the temporary closure of the Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe town due to severe flooding caused by recent typhoons and the southwest monsoon. (MJSC/PIA Region 3-Pampanga)
