PCG holds medical, dental mission for Pag-asa Island residents

Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

From Bataraza town, it takes over a day by ship to reach Pag-asa Island in the municipality of Kalayaan. Pag-asa Island is located 280 nautical miles from mainland Palawan. The island’s distance and remoteness pose a lot of challenges to the community, especially when it comes to health emergencies. The village currently has 4 medical staff, which includes two nurses and two midwives. They admitted they could not attend to all of the residents’ healthcare needs. “Kadalasan dito mga mild lang din naman. May mga ubo at sipon. Ang worst namin may nastroke pero namanage naman din kaagad. Dito kasi sa Pag-asa, konti lang ang medical staff,” Jocelyn dela Cruz, Nurse II of Kalayaan town, told reporters on Thursday. “Meron kaming telemedicine. Pag may pasyente kami, tinitext namin ang doctor—ng PCG, CHO ng PPC, pati private practitioner,” she added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/10/07/23/pag-asa-island-fisherfolk-decry-foreign-fishing-vessels-in-west-ph-sea">Pag-asa island fisherfolk decry foreign fishing vessels in West PH Sea</a></li></ul>It’s even more difficult when a patient needs to be brought to the hospital in the mainland, according to Dela Cruz. “Pag ganyan, nandiyan naman ang Wescom pag kinakailangan talaga ng air evacuation. Ang PCG din nandiyan ang barko nila,” the nurse said. She went on, “Sa ngayon po, when it comes sa medical, kailangan namin ng doctor talaga. Kailangan din namin ng medical technologist kasi sayang din naman pag may mga checkup, pero pag may laboratories, sasabihan pa namin sila na bumaba ng mainland.” The Philippine Coast District Palawan held a medical and dental mission for residents of the island on Saturday. One of those who arrived early is Rando Asiado, a fisherman and resident of Pag-asa for over twelve years. “Magpapabunot po ng ngipin… Matagal na [masakit], tinitiis ko lang. Malayo kasi sa mainland,” Asiado said. “Nagpapasalamat ako dahil una, ang sakit ng ngipin, halos madalas. Ang nararamdaman ng kapwa ko rin mga residente. Kahit papano, maaksyunan sa ngayon.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/06/23/pag-asa-fishers-compete-with-foreign-vessels-for-catch">Pag-asa fishermen compete with foreign vessels for catch</a></li></ul>Adonis Acamay also went to the covered court with his live-in partner to have their daughter checked. She’d been coughing for days, they said. “Malaking tulong ito dahil malayo ang islang ito. Kailangan may ganitong conduct ng medical. Malayo po ang doctor dito. May nurse naman, pero syempre, kailangan nila ng katuwang,” Acamay noted. The PCG sought to provide medical and dental services to over 200 residents during their two-day mission. They also distributed medicine and other supplies. “Dito sa Pag-asa, bihira lang na maserbisyuhan sila, lalo sa dental. Para hindi na sila pumunta sa malalayo, gaya ng sa iba na based sa kwento nila, nagbibiyahe pa sila ng ilang araw para mapa-checkup ang mga kamag-anak,” CG ENS Laurito Rabaya, commander of the CGDPAL Civil Relations Group, said.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2831628" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>“Kahit sobrang layo nito, nagagalak din kami na tulungan sila sa kanilang mga pangangailangan,” he continued. “Part ‘yan siya ng humanitarian aid ng PCG as first responders, not just in calamities, but also to uplift the moral welfare of personnel and civilian entities in the area.” Aside from more medical and dental missions to be held here, residents are hopeful that more medical staff will be deployed to Pag-asa to address the healthcare needs of the island’s population more effectively.

From Bataraza town, it takes over a day by ship to reach Pag-asa Island in the municipality of Kalayaan.

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PCG holds medical, dental mission for Pag-asa Island residents

PCG holds medical, dental mission for Pag-asa Island residents

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 30, 2023 06:45 PM PHT

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