The first hybrid and functional Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Services (BUCAS) Center in Central Visayas opened at the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Carcar City on Thursday, April 4.
Aptly called SUGBUCAS, it is a tripartite collaboration among the Provincial Government (which operates CPH Carcar), Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH 7), and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
Gov. Gwen Garcia signed the tripartite agreement for the project with DOH 7 director Dr. Jaime Bernadas and VSMMC chief of hospital Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr. in a simple ceremony that was also witnessed by DOH Asec. Atty. Charade Mercado-Grande and Board Member Doc Stanley Caminero.
Under SUGBUCAS, DOH 7 and VSMMC shall deploy their competent medical professionals to CPH Carcar for the provision of ambulatory and urgent care services for southern Cebu residents.
Among other things, this allows DOH to save on time and resources that it otherwise had to spend on constructing facilities for the program.
On the other hand, SUGBUCAS shall also strengthen the absorptive capacities of CPH Carcar, enhance health service delivery in its levels, and reduce referrals and congestions in ERs and OPDs in higher and tertiary hospitals in Cebu City.
“Cebu innovates and creates the hybrid Sugbucas. No need to wait for infrastructure and equipment to be constructed and procured. We already have it. What we just need are the doctors and all the other health personnel,” Gov. Gwen said in her speech.
Services offered here include primary care, emergency and ambulatory care, surgical services, specialized procedures for patients with chronic diseases, epidemiology and surveillance, and health emergency and response.
Earlier this week, VSMMC had already deployed its surgical and medical team to the facility, bringing needed doctors, nurses, and staff, as well as pharmaceutical and medical supplies. Just this afternoon, doctors at the SUGBUCAS Center were able to perform a gall bladder surgery and appendectomy.
Juanita Semoran of Simala, Sibonga appreciated this development, saying she was given quick medical attention by the staff at the SUGBUCAS Center the moment she arrived for an urgent concern.
BUCAS is an initiative of DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa who wishes to establish 28 BUCAS Centers by 2028 in the hopes of addressing the primary care needs of the country’s 28 million poorest Filipinos. | BJR