MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur--Member of the Parliament Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan on Tuesday, June 23, introduced two bills that call for the upgrade of the Tamparan District Hospital and Balindong Municipal Hospital both located in Lanao del Sur.

BTA Bill No. 99 seeks to convert Tamparan District Hospital (TDH) into a provincial hospital and upgrade its level, bed capacity, personnel and facilities.

Dipatuan said in his explanatory note that TDH is presently a Level I hospital with a 100-bed capacity. In the last five years, it has been catering to not less than 4,000 patients every year from the different municipalities of Lanao del Sur such as Taraka, Mulondo, Maguing, Lumba-Bayabao, Masui, Poonabayabao, Lumbayanague, Butig, and others.

“With the increasing population of the province, and TDH being the most accessible hospital and strategically located to cater the medical needs of the people of the province, it is appropriate for it to be converted into a provincial hospital,” Dipatuan said.

BTA Bill No. 102, on the other hand, seeks to upgrade the Level I Balindong Municipal Hospital with a 10-bed capacity into a Level II district hospital with 50-bed capacity.

According to Dipatuan, based on the Ministry of Health’s Hospital Statistical Report in 2019, Balindong Municipal Hospital is forced to render services that are beyond its expected capacity considering the high discrepancy between its Authorized Bed Capacity and Bed Occupancy Rate.

“Its bed occupancy rate in 2019 reached about 207% higher than its authorized bed capacity,” Dipatuan said.

He said it becomes a matter of utmost consideration and necessity for this government to enact a law that will adequately and effectively respond to the problem.

The bill also seeks to upgrade the hospital’s existing building including its landscaping, medical and office equipment and other facilities, its operating funds, and its personnel. (Bangsamoro Information Office)