DOH allots P138 M for 60 ambulances in Bicol

NEW AMBULANCES. These new ambulance units were turned over by the Department of Health (DOH) regional office for three provinces in Bicol on Monday, March 9. Each ambulance unit costs P2.3 million. Connie Calipay

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Department of Health (DOH) has allotted P138 million for the purchase of 60 units of ambulances in an effort to speed up and improve the provision of government healthcare services to he public in the Bicol region.

Dr. Ernie V. Vera, DOH Bicol regional director said the 60 ambulance units will be given to the six provinces of the region to provide better healthcare services to Bicolanos.Vera, on Monday, Mar. 9 turned over two ambulance units to the Albay provincial government, one unit to the Camarines Norte provincial government, two units to Camarines Sur, and one unit to the city government of Legazpi.

The six ambulances are among the 60 new ambulances that are set to be given to local government units (LGU) and public hospitals in the region, Vera said.

Each ambulance is worth P2.3 million with complete set of emergency medical equipment.

“The first tranche is the sea ambulance given in the island town of Rapu-Rapu as part of our aim to provide better healthcare to Bicolanos,” Vera said.

He said that all 60 ambulances are fully equipped with medical equipment, instruments, accessories and peripherals.Each ambulance unit has a folding stretcher, scoop stretcher, nebulizer, aneroid sphygmomanometer, automatic external defibrillator, oxygen cylinder, examining light, heavy duty stethoscope, and portable suction machine, among others.

Vera said that DOH Bicol will give at least 25 new ambulance units to different LGU and government hospitals in Camarines Sur; 18 units in Albay, 8 units in Sorsogon; 6 units in Catanduanes; and 3 units in Camarines Norte.

The Center for Health and Development in Bicol also provided five sea ambulance units to the island province of Masbate in 2019.