Every day, nearly forty patients undergo hemodialysis at Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City.  

However, each patient still needs to wait several hours.  

The hospital only has thirteen dialysis machines in use from five in the morning until eight in the evening.  

In the entire province, around 3,700 patients are undergoing hemodialysis at Pangasinan Provincial Hospital.  

To address this issue, the provincial government, under the leadership of Governor Ramon V. Guico III, aims to increase the number of hemodialysis machines in hospitals.  

According to Kris Allaine De Guzman, Dialysis Head Nurse at Pangasinan Provincial Hospital, “Everything is covered—treatment, laboratory tests, and erythropoietin injections—basically everything. Patients don’t pay anything, and if there are additional tests needed for the patient, we cover them through MAIPP. Everything is available or can be done here in the hospital through PhilHealth and MAIPP, and they can also use e-consultation. So, all of that is available to our patients.”  

Patients, the staff of the Hemodialysis Center, and employees of Pangasinan Provincial Hospital are deeply grateful to the provincial government for improving the health sector in the province.  

“The service here is good, they are all kind and attentive. They appreciate people like us who cannot afford to pay for hospital services, which is why I am very grateful to the government,” said Javet Dimapilis, Dialysis Patient.

“We are very grateful, especially the patients because from the beginning until now, the support and assistance they provide to the patients, the nurses, and all employees are visible—100% support. They don’t neglect us, and they don’t neglect our patients. So, the service continues, and we never stopped,” De Guzman added.

Recently, the Western Pangasinan District Hospital received fifteen new dialysis machines, and it is expected that other hospitals will receive the same.  

** VALERIE ANN DISMAYA