New UP-PGH equipment ensures advanced care for poor patients

The recent acquisition of advanced diagnostic equipment and critical care facilities at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) ensures that even indigent Filipinos can have free access to high-quality healthcare at the country's largest tertiary hospital.

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UP-PGH currently provides a wide range of healthcare services to over 700,000 patients annually while serving as the premier institution in training future healthcare professionals.

The hospital recently inaugurated a combined imaging capability in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT)—PET-CT scan equipment—for more comprehensive diagnostics. In addition, a new centralized intensive care unit is now capable of accommodating 32 patients at a time and a 128-slice CT scan. All of these developments form part of UP-PGH's long-term masterplan.

UP-PGH director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi acknowledged the long four-year wait for the first-ever PET-CT scan facility to be procured by the Philippine government.

"But now that it's here, we have leveled the field for poor patients, who will be using this machine 80 percent of the time versus 20 percent for paying patients," Legaspi said, adding that the PET-CT scan procedure can accommodate up to eight patients a day at present and will be scaled up to 15 once operations become more regular. "We need this machine badly because it has become central to the diagnosis of cancer, a major concern of our healthcare system."

A typical PET scan uses small amounts of radioactive material injected into the bloodstream to help detect diseases like cancer, heart disease, and brain disorders at an early stage by showing how tissues and organs are functioning.