DOH opens first urgent care and ambulatory service center

The Department of Health (DOH) led the inauguration of the first Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) facility in the Philippines on Wednesday as part of the government‘s efforts to advance quality healthcare for Filipinos.

The first BUCAS center in the country is located at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga. 

It is a one-story facility spanning 5,000 square meters, aimed at addressing the ambulatory medical and surgical care needs of Filipinos, particularly in Central Luzon.

Services available in the center include general surgery, oral-maxillofacial surgery, and otorhinolaryngologic surgery. It also features laboratories with comprehensive diagnostic capabilities.

The DOH said that the BUCAS facility will soon offer additional services, such as ambulatory surgery in ophthalmology, orthopedics, pediatrics, and dentistry, as well as radiology and pharmacy services.

“As we unveil this pioneering BUCAS center less than three months from conceptualization, we focus on our goal of establishing 28 primary care centers to serve the 28 million poorest Filipinos by the year 2028,” Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a statement.

In August 2023, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 11959, or the Regional Specialty Centers Act, to institutionalize the establishment of specialty and healthcare centers across the country.

Under the law, the DOH is tasked with establishing specialty centers in its hospitals in every region and in GOCC specialty hospitals. —VBL, GMA Integrated News