COTABATO CITY (PIA) – The Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC), a tertiary government hospital under the Department of Health (DOH), has intensified its efforts to bring healthcare services closer to the people, especially to the Bangsamoro community.
On June 18, the CRMC opened its Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) center in this city, which aims to provide comprehensive diagnostic health services.
During the BUCAS Center’s inauguration ceremony, CRMC Chief of Hospital Ishmael Dimaren emphasized that the center’s opening aligns with the Department of Health’s vision to provide accessible and quality healthcare services to the 28 million poorest Filipinos by 2028.
“The inauguration of the BUCAS Center is our support for the vision of Department of Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to create 28 BUCAS Centers for 28 million poor people by 2028,” he said.
He also emphasized that the center aims to address the ambulatory medical and surgical care needs of patients from this city and neighboring areas in the region.
Further, during the recent Talakayang Dose radio program of the Philippine Information Agency in Region XII, Dr. Scheherazade Ibrahim-Tan, head of the BUCAS Outpatient Department, explained the services that are available inside the center.
“Ito po ay karugtong ng outpatient department na maga-alok ng outpatient consultations, laboratory and diagnostic tests, minor surgeries at emergency care. Adhikain din nito na ma-streamline ang mga pasyente na pumupunta sa emergency room ng CRMC,” she conveyed.
(This is a continuation of the outpatient department that will offer outpatient consultations, laboratory and diagnostic tests, minor surgeries, and emergency care. It also aims to streamline patients who come to CRMC’s emergency room.)
Ibrahim-Tan said that the center also offers services in ophthalmology, orthopedics, urology, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, family planning, and women’s health.
She also underlined how crucial the aforementioned center is to lowering the daily patient load in the hospital’s emergency room.
“Isang adhikain ng BUCAS center ang ma-streamline ang mga pasyente sa emergency room at ma-spread out ang mga pasyenteng nagpapakonsulta. Dahil nga sa mas mahabang oras ng center, pwede nang magpakonsulta ang mga pasyente kahit na pagkatapos ng kanilang trabaho o opisina,” she explained.
(The BUCAS center’s goal is to streamline the emergency room and spread out the consulting patients. The longer hours of the center allow patients to consult even after their work or office hours.)
Furthermore, CRMC urged its patients to take advantage of the BUCAS center’s services, which are available from six in the morning to seven in the evening.
Other services also include internal medicine such as cardiology, diabetes clinic, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, nephrology, neurology, pulmonology, rheumatology, dermatology, and physical and rehab medicine. (LTB – PIA Cotabato City)
