Villar pushes dialysis wards in state hospitals

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar has filed a measure that seeks to establish dialysis wards in government hospitals and provide free treatments to indigent patients.

In filing House Bill 3098, Villar said chronic kidney disease is among the leading causes of death in the country and a major cause of hospitalizations.

“With the number of citizens affected with kidney diseases that continue to increase annually, together with the high mortality risk posed, the need to capacitate our government hospitals is immediate and significant,” she noted.

Under the bill, all national, regional and provincial government hospitals will be required to establish, operate and maintain a dialysis ward, “with complete dialysis machine, equipment and supplies within two years from the proposed law’s approval.”

The bill also provides that the dialysis treatment of patients who have no visible means of income or support, as determined by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, shall be provided free of charge.

A dialysis session usually costs P4,500 and is recommended to be conducted thrice weekly, which would amount to P13,500.

Villar said this amount is already “huge” for an “average family and potentially hinders patients from availing themselves of regular treatments.”