Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa on Monday hailed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s plan to bring healthcare closer to the Filipino people.

During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos announced that over 20 Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Services (BUCAS) Centers are being established to decongest public hospitals already open nationwide.

Marcos said that these BUCAS Centers are intended to provide competent ambulatory care, most especially to the poor and disadvantaged, for health conditions that do not require hospital admission.

Herbosa noted that BUCAS Centers are designed to be within 10-kilometer radius of regional hospitals.

“Ang nakita kasi namin karamihan sa nga nagpapatingin sa ating ospital e hindi naman kailangan magpaospital [kailangan lang nilang matingnan] (We saw that many patients visiting our hospital do not need to be admitted; they just need to be checked),” Herbosa said during the sidelines of SONA.

“Kung dati sasakay pa ng jeep o bus, ngayon nasa community na yung mga doktor galing din sa regional hospital (Before patients would need to take a jeep or bus, now there are already doctors from regional hospitals in BUCAS Centers in their community),”he added.

Herbosa also mentioned that heart centers are being established in Visayas and Mindanao, along with mobile primary care clinics.

Citing Marcos, Herbosa said the Health department will ensure that every single province in the country will be given a mobile clinic, which will bring laboratory exams and some other basic medical services closer to Filipinos.