AMID reports of increased hospital admissions of patients with Covid-19, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday denied that hospitals are already overwhelmed.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that after reports reached the DOH, they immediately called a virtual meeting over the weekend, attended by public and private hospital officials, DOH regional directors, local evecutives, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
She said that the St. Lukes Medical Center, for one, denied that their hospitals are overwhelmed.
“In St. Lukes, they still have hospitals beds [for Covid patients], masyado na heighten eh ‘yung balita [the news was just heightened]. When we checked and went around, we saw an increase in the Covid patients admitted in the ER. Those who are considered suspects, and those with symptoms, [but ] to say that the system is overwhelmed —no!” she stressed.
Likewise, University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) director Dr. Gerardo “Gap” Legaspi denied that their hospital is currently overwhelmed.
“It’s that we’re overrun by non-Covid patients these past months,” Legaspi said in a television interview, speaking partly in Filipino.
Vergeire said that based on the DOH healthcare utilization record, “we are still at the manageable level.”
“We still have at least 50 percent occupancy that can accomodate Covid patients. Although we can’t deny that the patients are increasing,” Vergeire added.
Vergeire stressed that it is still better for hospitals to be prepared.
She also said that the government is also monitoring the situation to determine if another “timeout” is needed.
In August last year, the health-care workers called for a “timeout” after the country’s healthcare system was overwhelmed. Authorities responded with tighter mobility restrictions and strict enforcement of health protocols.