Friday, February 4, 2011

Philippine General Hospital



A week ago I gave birth to a healthy and handsome baby boy. And I’ve been itching to go online and blog about it for the longest time but I just just find the time nor the energy to do it, until now. After a week of sleep-deprived nights, my body is finally adjusting to the rigors of a nursing mom to a newborn. It also helps that my hubby is in full support-mode and has been doing the household chores that I can’t and shouldn’t be doing still.

I gave birth in Manila, at the Ospital Heneral ng Pilipinas (that’s Philppine Genral Hospital to you! :D) . We picked this hospital mainly for financial reasons. It is still the cheapest hospital that offers high-quality hospital care. It may look dilapidated and old, but the best doctors are still here. This is also where I gave birth last time, six years ago, to our daughter.

When we trooped to the patient admission area, we immediately noticed that they had the area renovated. It is now airconditioned and the seats are new. The officers in charge of admission now also sit behind a glass wall instead of the open table they used to occupy before. The line wasn’t really long but we did spend more or less an hour before being shown our room. They had the number system to attend to the patients in an orderly fashion, but they also entertained various inquiries which I think sidetracks them for a while.


They also gave all admitted patients a hospital kit which contained:

  • a digital thermometer
  • a bottle of povidone-iodine
  • a bottle of alcohol
  • cotton
  • a roll of gauze bandage
  • a roll of micropore tape
  • a decent pair of utensils –spoon and fork (not included in picture)
  • a small tabo
  • a plastic measuring cup
  • a small measuring cup (the one used to measure liquid medicines with)
  • the PGH blue card
  • the watcher’s ID
  • the hospital tag
  • and a vacuum-packed pillow

We were excited to be getting these! Last time we were here, we got nothing. Just the blue card and the hospital tag. It felt like being admitted into a private hospital!

A sad note though is that just like private hospitals, the PGH is also implementing the deposit-system now. Last time, we were just admitted into the hospital, presenting the admitting orders of my doctor and gave nothing else, no deposits whatsoever. And the deposits are also based on the room that you’re getting. For us who asked to be booked into the Pay Ward, we paid P5, +++ (more than five thousand pesos). For those getting a small private room, the rate would actually reach more than nine thousand pesos!

We opted for the Pay Ward to minimize costs. We’ll still be attended to by our doctors, not be subject to the prodding of medical students, but for a lower cost. Last time they Pay Ward I was booked in had 8 beds in all. This time, there were only seven of us. It was also air-conditioned and had a decent Comfort Room where patients and their bantay can take a bath in.

Luckily we were placed in the bed by the windows, next to the air-conditioning. The night I was admitted, we thought we’d freeze to death, but it was the opposite. Since the lay-out is quite funny, with half of the room obviously colder than the other half whose air-conditioning is being blocked by a wall, some bantay would lower the temperature down. During the day too, when the sun is beating down on our side, being near the air conditioning made it nice actually. J

What I discovered that night though was more than the superficial renovations of PGH, I also was surprised that I was subject to a different preparatory steps this time. I don’t know if its because I’m scheduled for a caesarian section, instead of the ordinary “giving birth” tag. I’ll write about this next time.


*I seem to have a problem uploading pictures. I'll upload some next time. I promise!


*Feb. 6 -- just uploaded a picture. :D

12 comments:

  1. I do have a doctor at Manila Doctor's Hospital. I am to give birth on July. When my doctor told us that the NSD with private room package is 45k i didn't flinch an inch cause I thought that was an ok price for a private hospital. After some friend consultations, they said that PGH has now private services I am becoming more curious about it. Will it be a lot cheaper if I take in a private room in PGH than in Manila Doctor's since you mentioned that Small Private Room will already ask for a deposit of around 9k?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it will be a lot cheaper if you go to PGH instead of Manila Doctors. Have you asked your doctor if he/she services here too? My old OB works at St. Luke's. She gave me an idea of how much a delivery would be if I'd have it there (30-40k, that was in 2004), but she offered me another option, to use a small clinic where she also works. Maybe you should ask your OB if this is an option too. Tell her about your financial concerns.

    All in all, for my CS-delivery, we spent around 30k,including the Philhealth discounts already. In 2004, we spent only 20k, and that's excluding the Philhealth pa!

    Tipid talaga,sis!

    PGH looks old. Really. But I loved my stay there. the Manangs are friendly. :) I felt right at home.

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  3. hi sis! im also scheduled for cs in pgh. nagpareserve ka ba ng room in advance or the day before your cs na kayo nagpunta? mahirap ba kumuha ng rooms? thanks so much and god bless :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Twistedheart!

      hindi na ako nagpareserve ng rooms in advance kasi PayWard naman ang option namin. Pero kung mag-small private room ka, mas maganda talagang magpareserve na din. marami ring patrons ang PGH na kumukuha ng private rooms kaya check niyo na beforehand kung may open slot.

      goodluck, sis and congratulations!

      :D

      Delete
  4. Hi,

    Just like to ask what would be the first thing to do if mag apply for pay wards sa PGH? Since January nagpapa checkup na ko sa PGH and I still don't know how makakuha ng private room. I am planning to deliver my first abby sa PGH as well :) Thank you in advance :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jayne!

    As far as I know, sis, hindi na kailangan magpareserve kung payward ang kukunin niyo. YUn ang sabi sa amin noon.

    Yung reservations nila ay para sa semi-private rooms and up. Kung balak niyong magpareserve naman ng private room, pwede daw kahit 1 month in advance. Medyo steep lang ang deposit na kailangan niyong ibigay. Noong 2011 na nag-inquire kami, yung deposit para sa reservation ay nasa 9K na!

    Punta ka lang sa Admissions at ibigay mo yung Admitting Slip na ibibigay ng OB mo kung magpapaadmit ka na. Dun na nila ipo-process yung admission mo.

    :D

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  6. hi, my idea ka ba magkano ang CS section sa QCMMC?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sa Labor ba ito, sis?

      Hindi ako familiar sa rates nila pero isa yata sa pinaka-ok na paanakan ito.

      I would suggest na i-check mo sa mga forums online yung mga feedback sa hospital na target mo.

      hope this helps. :)

      Delete
  7. Hi! First, I wanna thank you for every single detail you said regarding PGH, nagka-idea ako...Actually, I am scheduled for CS this coming July 1st and just today, I learned that we were denied for the loan we applied for kaya sobrang out of budget yung cost of expenses na binigay ng OB ko, I was thinking of PGH na lang instead of ibang public hospitals nearby alam kong mas ok ang service at facilities dun...ask ko lang anong dapat na 1st step ko gawin? tatanggapin ba ako na mag walk in or kelangan now pa lang magpacheck up na ako dun para magkarecord?

    Pls pls reply, 3weeks to go manganganak na kasi ako and I dont know what to do...Maraming Salamat and Godbless!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sis, pde ka sigurong humingi ng referral sa OB mo ngayon kung may kakilala siyang OB sa PGH para mas suwabe ang transition mo.

      Or kung wala naman, I would suggest na magpacheckup ka muna para makapili ka ng OB n gusto mo.

      Pero kung walk-in naman, ok lang din siguro, wala ka nga lang OB,pero as for the records, magfi-fill-up ka rin naman kapag nagpa-admit ka na.

      Pde mo rin itanong sa OB mo kung anong option ang available for you given your financial situation. yung unang OB ko kasi sa St. Luke's sya pero nag-offer na sa community clinic nya ako paanakin kung gusto kong makatipid. :)

      Godbless!

      Delete
  8. Hi! Your blog has been very helpful to me, although sa first week of October pa ako manganganak. Acee, when you have time, I hope you post here how the admission was made and kung magkano nagastos mo. Kasi I'm planning to give birth sa St. Clares but medyo mahal yung binigay na price ng OB ko, 50K daw eh gusto ko sana mas maliit pa. Ada, can I have the number nung Doctor na nagpaanak sayo so I could contact her and ask her kung pwedeng sa PGH na lang? :) if not you can give her my number 09177573323 kung private sya masyado. Thank you so much! <3

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  9. Can you recommend an OB in PGH? you can email me at ninaclaiben@gmail.com. Thank you for your help in advance!

    ReplyDelete

Sweet! I would love to hear what you think! :)