OATHTAKING

From: DOH WebPage

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo swears in Dr. Esperanza I. Cabral as the new Department of Health Secretary during simple rites held at Malacañang Palace, Tuesday, January 26, 2010.

RP Medical Team Off to Haiti on January 25

From: DOH WebPage

22 January 2010

Health Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral reported today that the Philippine humanitarian team bound for Haiti to render medical assistance in the earthquake-stricken country will leave on Monday, January 25, 2010.

“We are very pleased that so many people helped us in this worthy project to reach out and help those in need,” said Cabral, who highlighted the assistance of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the Philippine Airlines Foundation (PALF), FedEx and the Department of National Defense (DND).

The health chief disclosed that PAL and PALF provided free plane tickets for the whole humanitarian team for the Manila-San Francisco leg of their route. From there, the team will take a connecting flight to Miami, and then to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. PAL and PALF also shouldered the tickets for the team’s trip home from San Francisco back to the Philippines.

The FedEx Group, on the other hand, will be transporting the team’s cargo and medical supplies for free, while the DND, led by Lt. Col. Lopez Dagoy, will take care of handling the cargo when it arrives in Haiti.

The Philippine humanitarian team is composed of general and orthopedic surgeons, internists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses, epidemiologists, psychiatrists and sanitary engineers from DOH hospitals and facilities, as well as local government units. The team leader is Dr. Emmanuel Bueno, Chief of the Emergency Department and Health Emergency Management Service (HEMS) Coordinator at East Avenue Medical Center. According to HEMS Director Dr. Carmencita Banatin, the team will be in Haiti for 18 days.

“In any disaster, the world can always count on the compassion and assistance of the Filipinos,” Cabral concluded

Humanitarian Team to Haiti

From: DOH WebPage

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral (3rd from left) giving detailed instructions to Health Emergency Management Staff Director Dr. Carmencita Banatin (2nd from left) on the deployment of a medical team to Haiti. The 21-member team will be composed of general and orthopedic surgeons, internists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses, epidemiologists, psychiatrists, and sanitary engineers. Also in photo are Health Assistant Secretary Elmer Punzalan and Undersecretary Mario Villaverde.

The Doctor Is In

From: DOH WebPage

Newly-minted Department of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral immediately plunged into action as she held an early morning briefing with top DOH officials led by Undersecretaries Mario Villaverde and Alexander Padilla, who updated Secretary Cabral on the accomplishments of the Department, as well as its current goals and thrusts.

That same morning, Secretary Cabral, heeding President Arroyo's instruction for the country to join multinational relief efforts for Haiti, has also ordered the deployment of a medical team composed of doctors, nurses and sanitary engineers to the quake-devastated Caribbean nation. Usec. Villaverde, Director Maylene Beltran of the Bureau of International Health Cooperation and Director Carmencita Banatin of the Health Emergency Management Services met with Undersecretary Esteban Cornejos and Atty. Enrico Fos of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to coordinate the sending of the Filipino medical contingent.

At the DOH turn-over ceremonies later in the day, the Secretary thanked the DOH personnel for the warm welcome given to her, and lauded the accomplishments of the DOH under former Secretary Duque's term. She also called on them to join her in her drive to reduce the inequities in the country's health services and to set the groundwork for the next administration in improving the entire Philippine healthcare system during the five-and-a-half months that she will be at the helm of the DOH

Hazard Map of Northern Mindanao

DOH SEEKS TOTAL BAN OF FIRECRACKERS AFTER TWO DEATHS

From: DOH WebPage

Press Release/4 January 2009

The Department of Health (DOH) today recommended the complete banning of firecrackers and fireworks in residential areas after it claimed the lives of two revelers last New Year’s celebration.

“We are recommending the total ban because this is the first time that deaths due to firecrackers have been reported. In the previous years, fatalities were mainly due to watusi ingestion and stray bullets,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The health chief said that in the 18 years of the existence of the DOH Philippine Fireworks Injury Surveillance (DOH-PFIS), it is only now that deaths due to pyrotechnic devices were reported.

“The two deaths involved a seven year-old male from Cabanatuan City and a 29 year-old male from Baguio City. Both died of cerebral concussion secondary to blasting last January 1,” Secretary Duque said.

The DOH-PFIS disclosed that the seven year-old boy was hit by a kwitis, a legal firecracker, on his upper eye lid on December 31. He then suffered a concussion and was rushed to the hospital where he died the next day, January 1. He was a passive case because he was just a bystander.

The other fatality was reportedly intoxicated when he lighted the jumbo kwiton bomb on January 1. When the firecracker exploded, he was hit in his right temple. He was dead on arrival when he was brought to the hospital. His cause of death was brain hemorrhage due to the blasting. The firecracker that killed him is not on the list of legal fireworks.

“We should take the total banning of firecrackers even more seriously now with these two deaths. We should not just ban the kwitis and the new illegal ‘cracker that cause the deaths of these two individuals because if the seemingly harmless watusi is able to not just maim but kill, then the other so-called legal firecrackers might also do the same in the future. We can’t risk more lives anymore before we take the big step of totally banning these potentially killer pyrotechnic devices,” Secretary Duque explained.

The DOH-PFIS reported that compared to the five-year average (2004-2009/same period), there is an increase of 13 cases or 1%.

There are 50 sentinel hospitals nationwide reporting to the DOH-PFIS this year.

DUQUE: FIREWORK INJURIES DOWN BUT STRAY BULLETS UP, NO DEATHS

From: DOH Webpage

The Department of Health officially announced today 597 firework-related injuries from 43 (86%) reporting sentinel hospitals all over the country for the period December 21,2009-January 1,2010.

“This is the fourth lowest number of firework-related injuries recorded in the country in the annual Iwas Paputok surveillance in the past decade,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III revealed.

The number of cases decreased by 15% compared to the previous year when there were 702 injuries (683 from fireworks, 17 from stray bullets and 2 from watusi ingestion). It also decreased by 153 cases (20%) compared to the five-year average from 2004-2008.

The decrease may have been due to the fewer use of or more cautious use of fireworks.

“We were relentless in our drive against firework use. In fact, we even employed scare tactics that showed the public vivid images of severely mangled limbs and a tray of surgical instruments used for limb amputation,” Duque explained

The public too may have welcomed the New Year with injury-free alternative merry-making devices such as the torotot and blaring radios. Also, the health chief attributed the decrease in the number of cases to more ways of celebrating the New Year such as concerts, street parties and public display of fireworks in open spaces which are done by pyrotechnic professionals.

This year there were 570 injuries from fireworks, 26 from stray bullets and 1 from watusi ingestion.

Firework injuries affected ages from 2months-75 years, median 13 years, mostly males (456 or 80%). Three hundred fifty-three (62%) were active users, 453 (79%) had blast/burn injuries without amputation, 39 (6%) had blast/burn injuries with amputation and 78 (15%) had eye injuries.

Piccolo was the single most frequently used firecracker that caused 208 (36%) firework injuries. Piccolo is cheap and easily accessible to children. Piccolo was recommended for banning since 2007. This year, the PNP intensified its campaign to ban Piccolo. However, injuries from Piccolo increased by 100 cases or 93% compared to last year. Without these, the total number of injuries would have been significantly lower.

Meanwhile, stray bullet injuries increased by 9 cases (53%) compared to the previous year. Ages ranged from 8 to 51 years. Cases were mostly from NCR with 18 cases or 69%.

“Overall, we are pleased with the continually decreasing number of firework-related injuries which we recorded in the past years. We continue to advocate for safer ways of welcoming the New Year. We also advise those injured to go to the nearest health facility to get anti-tetanus shots,” Duque said.

Secretary Duque also acknowledged the efforts of hospitals, both public and private, for attending to injured patients during the revelry and for reporting cases to the DOH National Epidemiology Center.

“I also thank local government units who have successfully implemented our DOH Kontra Pautok program, which contributed to the successful decrease in the number of this year’s fireworks-related injuries, “ Duque concluded.