The Philippine health care system has much to improve on. Many patients still cannot be brought to the hospital even when they urgently require medical attention. This is a problem that is very keenly felt particularly in the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas of the country. As shown in the documentary “Ambulansyang de Paa”, many Filipinos remain unable to seek treatment for even the most easily treatable illnesses. Because of this, their health conditions typically worsen to the point that they require emergency care. Yet, even when such is already the case, these patients still cannot receive the medical attention they need because the nearest health care facility is mountains and rivers away from them.
So, this brings us to the discussion about the importance of pre-hospital care in improving outcomes for these patients. The number of hospitals is limited. And even health centers can be inaccessible in rural areas. There is a strong need to establish a working pre-hospital care system everywhere so that the patients who cannot reach these health facilities can receive at least some temporizing measures until they can be attended to by a medical practitioner. With the Philippine health care system as it is today, it cannot be avoided that there will be patients with life-threatening conditions who cannot be brought to a health facility that can provide their needs in a timely manner. However, we can make it such that pre-hospital care is brought closer to them. And hopefully, this intervention would be able to buy them time to reach the facilities that can better care for them.