DOH GETS SATISFACTION RATINGS FOR LOOKING AFTER THE PUBLIC’S HEALTH - SWS SURVEY

From: DOH WebPage

The Department of Health (DOH) today expressed its gratitude to the public for conveying their confidence in the government’s capability of looking after their health in the light of the most recent survey results that showed positive satisfaction> ratings.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) latest survey revealed that the government got a +40 satisfaction rating (the highest net rating among the 13 issues surveyed) on “the issue of protecting the public from the outbreak of diseases” and a +14 rating for “ensuring that medicines are available”.

“We are very happy that all our efforts did not go to waste. Our government, under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and its health workers are selflessly and relentlessly working to give the public better health services and we are very thankful to the public for appreciating all these endeavors,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The health chief said that during the height of the A (H1N1) outbreak earlier this year and even with the year-round continuous threat of dengue, health workers have never tired of serving the public and have always had their best interest in mind.

“The battle against A (H1N1) is not easy. I am not saying that the fight has already been won and that we have squashed the novel virus. But due to the diligent work of our people at DOH and our front liners in the field and in the hospitals, we were able to stall the increase in the number of cases and treat those afflicted accordingly,” Duque explained.

Duque said that to maximize the impact of the agency’s information drive against this disease, the DOH did not just rely on traditional means such as lectures and other community-organized meetings but also tried using mass media as a channel to expand its reach.

“We have infomercials to augment our health promotion efforts. We have print advertisements in leading newspapers, we have television commercials, and we have radio plugs that can reach the farthest areas. We even partnered with Smart to use SMS text in disseminating vital information on A (H1N1). We really did not leave any stone unturned just to make the information get to the public and it is paying off because it raised their awareness,” Duque stressed.

The health chief said that the 4-S Kontra Dengue campaign launched in 2006 had been given the same media treatments and made the public more aware of its prevention and control.

“The government’s efforts in ensuring medicines are affordable to the public is not an easy feat also. The fight for cheaper medicines was a long and tedious battle with the multinationals for years and now that a law has finally been signed to make the costs of essential medicines half by 50%, its time for the public to reap,” Duque said.
Duque said that as the head of the DOH he has an accountability of informing the public about these developments.

“We need to make the most out of our resources and have to resort to all information channels that will best deliver it: the media. It’s a very good tool and is cost-effective if we compare it to the expenses that may possibly incur when thousands of the public get sick,” Duque said.