The Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) Center of the Department of Health (DOH) in Tubao town, La Union has been catering to about 200 patients daily since its operation began on June 14.

The BUCAS-Tubao, managed by the DOH and the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC), can service up to 500 patients daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., ITRMC planning officer Harold Ducusin said in a phone interview on Thursday.

It is the 2nd BUCAS Center in the Ilocos region after the one in Banna, Ilocos Norte.

BUCAS centers provide outpatient services, such as medical consultation, dental services, X-ray, laboratory testing, and ambulatory surgical services.

The DOH said the establishment of BUCAS centers is part of Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa’s Modernization for Health Equity and the “28 for 28 by 28” initiative to help fulfill his 8-Point Action Agenda for Health, targeting to put up at least 28 BUCAS centers nationwide to serve 28 million Filipinos who are the most in need of accessible and quality health care services by 2028.

“We now have two functioning urgent care facilities in Ilocos. The other opened on May 28 in Banna, Ilocos Norte, and now we can provide immediate medical services, especially for non-life-threatening medical issues that do not require an emergency room but necessitate prompt care and treatment,” Herbosa said during the inauguration of the center in Tubao on June 14.

DOH 1 (Ilocos) Director Paula Paz Sydiongco, in a statement on Wednesday, said the facility addresses the health needs of all patients at the community level, integrating care, prevention, promotion, and education.

The center serves as the middle ground between primary care physicians and hospital emergency departments, helping reduce congestion in emergency rooms, which can now focus more on critical cases.

“Primary health care facilities in the region will continue to be strengthened to ensure equity and access to health care services to achieve universal health coverage,” Sydiongco said. (PNA)