Wednesday
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Wednesday, April 5, 2000
Welcome to a ‘Sentrong Sigla’ PARRELLING down a narrow, dusty road, our vehicle came to a halt in front of a compound wanted with overhanging trees and what looks like a vegetable garden. “Welcome to the Rural Health Unit III of San Isidro, Lubao, Pampanga” proclaims an assign above the iron gate. Dr, Reynaldo Alipio, the health center’s director, welcomes us with warmth and brisk efficiency. Even before we can catch our breaths, he has led us to his vegetable garden, children’s playground and to a ???aining area where some volunteer barangay health workers are undergoing an orientation. Having already said a mouthful even before we could set foot inside the health center, Alipio merely grins as he ushers is into the waiting area, one side of which is also the center’s children’s health center. The “Under-5 clinic” boasts of a cheerful mural on the wall, adorned with old toys hang from the ceiling and discarded crib mobiles. “I got these from my children who’ve outgrown their toys,” Alipio enthuses, leading us past his smiling staff to the rest of the center, including an examination and consultation room, a small laboratory and his office which also doubles as another examination room. The RHU of San Isidro serves the barangay’s ?10 families, and a population of 32,000. One of three RHU’s in Lubao, then San Isidro clinic serves from 30-50 clients a day. Impeccably clean, with bright and cheery interiors and personnel whose ebullience they all seem to have imbibed from their energetic director, the San Isidro RHU is one of the firs rural health units in the country to be recognized as the :Senntrong Sigla” or literally a “Center of Vitality.” Earlier, Dr. Felicitas Ureta of the Department of Health and Chair of the Quality Assurance component of the Sentrong Sigla Movement, had told us that the moment you step into a winning clinic, you can feel the difference. You can feel the energy and efficiency of the staff and the good feelings of the clients.” By this yardstick one, the San Isidro
around the country aimed promoting quality health services in government health centers and at making these services available to every Filipino. Unfortunately, public health clinics and government hospitals have earned a reputation for shoddy service and less than reliable treatment. A focus group study financed by private sources has found that complaints from the public about the quality of service received at the health centers are fairly uniform. Many complain about the long queues and abrupt, hostile reception given by the health center personnel. Other bemoan the rigid schedule of services, being told to come back, for instance, because they wanted family planning information on a day devoted to immunizations. This, after the clients, who are already poor, had taken timed off from work or domestic duties and spent for their transportation. But the biggest complaint of all was the discrimination they experienced at the hands of health center personnel. “If all of us in the line are wearing slippers,” said an informant, “and a latecomer arrives wearing shoes, you can bet the one wearing shoes will be let in first.” No wonder the respondents of the study said that they would be willing to pay for private services, even if they could avail of them for free from government facilities, as long as they could be assured of good treatment at the hands of nurses, midwives, and doctors and that everyone would be treated equally. *** CLEARLY, not only the image but more importantly, the actual quality of
service delivery meets accepted standards anywhere in these islands. This is where the Setrong Sigla Movement comes in. To make sure that health centers and hospitals meet the basic criteria for effective and quality services, the Sentrong Sigla Movement has launched a certification and recognition program that develops and promotes standards of care. A health center or hospital which has been certified as meeting these quality standards is awarded the Sentrong Sigla “yellow sun” logo, a symbol which tells the public that “in this facility, people can expect the health providers to be consciously on the look-out for ways to improve, maintain and sustain the quality of services. *** TO FIRST earn the “yellow sun,” a health center or hospital must first submit a self-assessment form which measures compliance with standards in eight areas of quality: infrastructure and amenities (clean water and functional toilets, for instance), basic health services (including immunization and monitoring of children’s growth), attitudes and behavior of health workers, human resources (are there enough staff to meet the clients demands?), equipment and laboratory capability, sufficient drugs, medicines and supplies, a health information system, and community intervention. A hospital or health center must then request for an assessment visit from the regional health office, which in turn endorses a list of qualified facilities to the DOH central offices. The DOH then sends a validation team to the center to personally inspect the facilities, after which the certified facility is recognized as a “Sentrong Sigla” and allowed to display the “yellow sun.” A recognition is not permanent, however. Every certified facility is reassessed and monitored twice a year,
RHU more than the golden “sun” which is Sentrong Sigla’s symbol, proudly hanging on their wall. THE SENTRONG Sigla Movement is a joint effort of the Department of Health and local governments units 062307-062908
the services rendered by the government health facilities needs drastic improvement. And with responsibility and funding for health services devoted to local government units. All the more urgent is the need to ensure that health
and if a clinic fails to maintain standards for two consecutive rating periods, the Sentrong Sigla seal is removed until it can live up once more to everything that the yellow sun symbolizes. (More tomorrow)
Welcome to a ‘Sentrong Sigla’ PARRELLING down a narrow, dusty road, our vehicle came to a halt in front of a compound wanted with overhanging trees and what looks like a vegetable garden. “Welcome to the Rural Health Unit III of San Isidro, Lubao, Pampanga” proclaims an assign above the iron gate. Dr, Reynaldo Alipio, the health center’s director, welcomes us with warmth and brisk efficiency. Even before we can catch our breaths, he has led us to his vegetable garden, children’s playground and to a ???aining area where some volunteer barangay health workers are undergoing an orientation. Having already said a mouthful even before we could set foot inside the health center, Alipio merely grins as he ushers is into the waiting area, one side of which is also the center’s children’s health center. The “Under-5 clinic” boasts of a cheerful mural on the wall, adorned with old toys hang from the ceiling and discarded crib mobiles. “I got these from my children who’ve outgrown their toys,” Alipio enthuses, leading us past his smiling staff to the rest of the center, including an examination and consultation room, a small laboratory and his office which also doubles as another examination room. The RHU of San Isidro serves the barangay’s ?10 families, and a population of 32,000. One of three RHU’s in Lubao, then San Isidro clinic serves from 30-50 clients a day. Impeccably clean, with bright and cheery interiors and personnel whose ebullience they all seem to have imbibed from their energetic director, the San Isidro RHU is one of the firs rural health units in the country to be recognized as the :Senntrong Sigla” or literally a “Center of Vitality.” Earlier, Dr. Felicitas Ureta of the Department of Health and Chair of the Quality Assurance component of the Sentrong Sigla Movement, had told us that the moment you step into a winning clinic, you can feel the difference. You can feel the energy and efficiency of the staff and the good feelings of the clients.” By this yardstick one, the San Isidro
around the country aimed promoting quality health services in government health centers and at making these services available to every Filipino. Unfortunately, public health clinics and government hospitals have earned a reputation for shoddy service and less than reliable treatment. A focus group study financed by private sources has found that complaints from the public about the quality of service received at the health centers are fairly uniform. Many complain about the long queues and abrupt, hostile reception given by the health center personnel. Other bemoan the rigid schedule of services, being told to come back, for instance, because they wanted family planning information on a day devoted to immunizations. This, after the clients, who are already poor, had taken timed off from work or domestic duties and spent for their transportation. But the biggest complaint of all was the discrimination they experienced at the hands of health center personnel. “If all of us in the line are wearing slippers,” said an informant, “and a latecomer arrives wearing shoes, you can bet the one wearing shoes will be let in first.” No wonder the respondents of the study said that they would be willing to pay for private services, even if they could avail of them for free from government facilities, as long as they could be assured of good treatment at the hands of nurses, midwives, and doctors and that everyone would be treated equally. *** CLEARLY, not only the image but more importantly, the actual quality of
service delivery meets accepted standards anywhere in these islands. This is where the Setrong Sigla Movement comes in. To make sure that health centers and hospitals meet the basic criteria for effective and quality services, the Sentrong Sigla Movement has launched a certification and recognition program that develops and promotes standards of care. A health center or hospital which has been certified as meeting these quality standards is awarded the Sentrong Sigla “yellow sun” logo, a symbol which tells the public that “in this facility, people can expect the health providers to be consciously on the look-out for ways to improve, maintain and sustain the quality of services. *** TO FIRST earn the “yellow sun,” a health center or hospital must first submit a self-assessment form which measures compliance with standards in eight areas of quality: infrastructure and amenities (clean water and functional toilets, for instance), basic health services (including immunization and monitoring of children’s growth), attitudes and behavior of health workers, human resources (are there enough staff to meet the clients demands?), equipment and laboratory capability, sufficient drugs, medicines and supplies, a health information system, and community intervention. A hospital or health center must then request for an assessment visit from the regional health office, which in turn endorses a list of qualified facilities to the DOH central offices. The DOH then sends a validation team to the center to personally inspect the facilities, after which the certified facility is recognized as a “Sentrong Sigla” and allowed to display the “yellow sun.” A recognition is not permanent, however. Every certified facility is reassessed and monitored twice a year,
RHU more than the golden “sun” which is Sentrong Sigla’s symbol, proudly hanging on their wall. THE SENTRONG Sigla Movement is a joint effort of the Department of Health and local governments units 062307-062908
the services rendered by the government health facilities needs drastic improvement. And with responsibility and funding for health services devoted to local government units. All the more urgent is the need to ensure that health
and if a clinic fails to maintain standards for two consecutive rating periods, the Sentrong Sigla seal is removed until it can live up once more to everything that the yellow sun symbolizes. (More tomorrow)
