Countryside lacks anesthesiologists
"In the midst of rapid growth and metamorphosis of anesthesia in our country, there are issues that cannot be ignored." Thus said Dr. Romulo Buzon Jr. in opening the 39th annual convention of the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists (PSA) that had for its theme, Road to the Future: Right Practice, Right Now.
One such issue, he said, is the lack of anesthesiologists in many areas of the country even with already 2,000 licensed anesthesiologists. Buzon cited Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Jolo, Batanes, and Marinduque among the provinces with no anesthesiologists.
The problem, he said, is compounded by the continuing exodus of doctors and other health professionals to seek more lucrative opportunities overseas.
He urged PSA members to bring anesthesia to distant areas in the Philippines where medical practitioners are scarce but where medical service is desperately needed. "We are a necessary discipline. Our people need us, especially the marginalized, the poorest of the poor," Buzon said. He urged his colleagues to move out of their comfort zones in the operating room, reach out, and be part of the solution instead of just criticizing government for its health policies and the lack of health services and facilities.
Antonio Meloto, executive director of Gawad Kalinga, delivered the keynote address.
Dr. Benevido de Guzman was awarded the Quentin Gomez award for his exceptional performance and contribution to the field of anesthetics. M
SSP Mindanao chapter formed
Recognizing that stroke is second biggest killer in the Philippines but there is little public awareness about it, practitioners in neurology and related fields in Davao City recently organized the Southern Mindanao chapter of the Stroke Society of the Philippines.
Headed by neurologist Orlino Pacioles, board member of the Stroke Society of the Philippines, the chapter has 17 board members. "In a nutshell what the society does is, all of us of in multidisciplinary fields, come together, share our experience and come up with programs to widen our reach for brain-attack awareness," Pacioles said.
The chapter aims to promote public awareness about stroke and ensure rapid and effective treatment and rehabilitation of patients.
"People don't even realize what stroke is. They don't even know it [happens in] the brain. The awareness of stroke is very poor in our country specially in Mindanao," said Dr. Manolete Guerrero, vice president of the chapter. He added that being well informed about the symptoms of stroke redounds to prevention. "Davaoeños need to know that immediate care after a stroke is important because every second after the attack 60,000 brain cells die. Early treatment of stroke gives a higher chance of recovery," he stressed.
The chapter spearheaded two major programs last year-workshops on emergency stroke protocol in cooperation with Davao City 911 and the establishment of stroke units at Davao Doctors Hospital, San Pedro Hospital, Davao Medical Center, and Brokenshire Memorial Hospital.
"Having the cooperation of Davao City 911 in our program makes our chapter's brain-attack-awareness campaign a reality. And applying the Cincinnati Stroke Scale in consonance with the emergency-response team greatly benefits Davaoeños," Pacioles said. M
PHA launches BP campaign
One out of every six Filipinos is hypertensive, but this fact is unknown to many. In an effort to emphasize the importance of knowing one's blood pressure (BP), the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) launched its National BP Awareness Campaign during the Puso sa Puso media forum held February 11 at the PHA Heart House. Held as part of the celebration of Heart Month, the program offered free simultaneous BP screenings nationwide with the theme "Presyon ko alam ko, presyon ko alaga ko."
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Citing that the prevalence rate of hypertension has nearly doubled from 1992 to 1997, Dr. Emma Gaspar-Trinidad, chair of the PHA council on hypertension, said: "What is even worse is that not only is prevalence increasing but it seems that we're doing very bad[ly] as far as controlling hypertension [is concerned]." Thus the awareness campaign aims to "raise the level of awareness of Filipinos regarding BP consciousness" and "serve as the banner activity for the heart month," emphasizing a healthy lifestyle and promoting counseling to hypertensive and high risk cardiovascular patients.
"The prevention and control of hypertension, which is a primary driving force of global cardiovascular diseases, particularly remains an important public-health challenge in the country," admitted Health secretary Francisco Duque III. He extended the government's support to the PHA saying, "The war against hypertension is a moral battle to save lives, to promote excellent quality of life for everyone and to ensure the best heart health and the future of this nation."
The activity was organized in cooperation with the Vice Mayors' League of the Philippines (VMLP) and Therapharma, a division of Unilab. Aside from the officers and board of directors of PHA also present were Mandaluyong vice mayor and VMLP president Jesus Cruz, Fely Velandria of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, and Dr. Christina Dablo of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
To emphasize the importance of diet in maintaining a healthy heart, the PHA teamed up with Robinson's Supermarket Corporation to organize the "Healthy Heart Cookfest for Working Moms II." The contest aims to "empower mothers to be passionate advocates of healthy eating and influence everyone to churn out heart-friendly foods," said Dr. Saturnino Javier, PHA director and advocacy-committee chair. Please contact the PHA for more details (+63-2-9291161, +63-2-9291166, secretariat@philheart.org). M Carisa Paraz, MD
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