Manila:<Text>

Patients being treated in hospital hallways may soon become a thing of the past after the Senate approved a measure allowing faster expansion of government hospital capacity, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday. Hontiveros made the statement as she welcomed the Senate's 20-0 approval of Senate Bill No. 1508, or the DOH Hospital Bed Capacity and Service Capability Rationalization Act, which she authored and sponsored to streamline the expansion of bed capacity and services in hospitals run by the Department of Health.

According to Philippines News Agency, Hontiveros expressed optimism that the passage of the bill could eliminate the need for patients to endure treatment in hallways and ease the burden on healthcare workers who currently face increased workloads. The bill addresses an existing bottleneck that mandates a separate law for any increase in a hospital's bed capacity or service upgrades, a process that has historically taken years to accomplish.</P >

The measure grants the Department of Health the authority to determine and adjust the bed capacity and service capability of hospitals under its control. These adjustments will be based on factors such as population growth, disease trends, and health planning needs.