Herbosa says 'multi-specialty hospital' to be built in Clark

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Tuesday disclosed that a groundbreaking will take place for a 'multi-specialty hospital' in Clark this month.

Herbosa said this was originally designated as the Heart Center that was planned to be built in Clark.

The Health chief said he already mentioned this to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. during a sectoral meeting.

"I announced to him that we will already be groundbreaking on July 17 the Clark Multi-Specialty Center. This was the original one designated in Executive Order No. 19 as the Heart Center that will be built in Clark," Herbosa said.

"We have the land already from the CDC, from the Clark Development Corporation; and then we have the plans already, the design," Herbosa added.

Earlier, Marcos said the government has been identifying areas where specialty hospitals would be established. He said specialty hospitals should not just be located in Metro Manila but also in provinces.

According to Herbosa, the facility will start as a general hospital and then eventually, it will "move up to a children's specialty, and then a cardiac specialty, then the kidney specialty."

"So it will be just like what we have in the North Triangle of Quezon City wherein you have all the different specialties, and it will be in that corridor in Clark. So that will cover for Central and Northern Luzon cases of heart, lung, kidney and even cancer," he said.

Herbosa said the facility would be constructed through a combination of donations and government appropriations.

During his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos emphasized the importance of specialty hospitals like the Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Lung Center, National Children’s Hospital, and National Kidney and Transplant Institute, especially amid the pandemic.

"So sabi ko, dapat mayroon hindi lang sa Maynila. Ang napagkasunduan namin, ay imbes na magtayo ng bago pang ospital ay mag-extension na lang ‘yung mga ibang ospital para mayroong specialty na ilang kama para talaga as a specialty hospital," Marcos said back in April.

(I said this should not exist only in Manila. Instead of creating new hospitals, there should be extension hospitals that have specialties or those called as specialty hospitals.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News