Tales of indigent struggling to access needed healthcare

Diagnosed of bone cancer months ago, Kristel Joy, 20, was idly seated on a wheelchair on one of the hallways of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). She was waiting for her husband, who was busy the whole day looking for sponsors for her third cycle of chemotherapy. She was scheduled for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and a bone operation, too, but could not be admitted thus far for lack of funds.  The Medical Social Service having run out of funds, the husband had no other options but the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and a TV station to ask assistance from.

According to the blue card classification of the PGH, she belonged to the most indigent, class D. Being so, she was therefore entitled to free food rations, room accommodation and doctors’ services. But she was not exempt from the “electric fan charge.”

In anticipation of the recurring excruciating pain that had been punishing her, she started to worry. The nausea and vomiting were bearable compared to the burning feel and odious smell of medication. Kristel  could barely sleep and eat, which made her more emaciated.

Someone who worked at PGH for 10 years said that the hospital had changed a lot. Before, nearly everything was free. His wife, who died the year before because of a heart problem complicated by pneumonia, was also a class D. And yet for two weeks in hospital, he still spent more or less P70,000, of which only P17,000 was refunded by PhilHealth. “But this is a public hospital!” I protested in Filipino. “No, it’s already a public-private hospital,” he corrected me.

These are just two stories among thousands of others that tell of poor people going through a similar experience at PGH. How can the poor afford healthcare? Actually, the cost of a new gadget can extend someone else’s life.  Imagine how many lives could be saved if government assistance in the health services were easily accessible to all.

Enough of Bong Revilla and company. Votes have been wasted on them, let our taxes be saved from plunder. The government should work for the poor. Wikipedia stated that Philippine General Hospital, a government hospital, is generally known as the hospital for indigent patients. Let this be felt in reality.

—ELEANOR D. OBORRO,

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