QC boosts maternal and neonatal services
GOOD news for the dwellers of largest city in Metro Manila: Quezon City is rolling out online information exchange database that seeks to provide quicker and more accessible maternal and neonatal health services to its citizens.
The Quezon City Government headed by Mayor Herbert Bautista, thru the QC Health Department ( QCHD), in partnership with United Laboratories Inc. (Unilab, Inc.), launched during the 5th Maternal and Neonatal Health Summit the “Seal of Excellence” (SoE) Plus as part of its continuing efforts to innovate its health services and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
In the said event, 44 private lying-in clinics were recognized as Seal of Excellence awardees for being fully compliant to the Mayor Herbert Bautista standards set by the Department of Health, PhilHealth and the city’s local permit issuances.
The SoE Plus allows SoE-awarded lying-in clinics in Quezon City to immediately synchronize via Internet their respective postpartum prescribed reporting template with Lying-in clinics in Quezon City can now synchronize via Internet their respective postpartum and newborn profiles the local government’s database.
“We are now 3 million Filipinos in Quezon City and we need the participation and cooperation of the private sector to address the challenges of the SDGs, that is to decrease the mortality rates of both mothers and newborn children. Our goal is to also decrease by 30- to 40-percent the number of those giving birth through traditional means. We started with lying in clinics but we would like to expand this to other specialized health services,” Mayor Bautista noted.
The implementation of SoE PLUS is part of the QC government’s expansion of the SoE program, which recognizes private lying- in clinics in the city that have achieved essential Maternal Newborn Child Health and Nutrition indicators.
“The Seal of Excellence is a testament to public-private partner improve public health services. Being in the business of health such as running a private lying-in clinic is a critical responsibility as it is supposed to provide adequate care and services to pregnant women and their infants. Therefore, it must be able to fully comply with national and local government standards,” says Claire Papa, External Affairs Head of Unilab.
Since the launching of SoE last year, a total of 99 private lying in clinics were monitored and evaluated twice a year by Midwife Supervisors and Sanitary Inspectors.