The Department of Health (DOH) said it is fast-tracking the delivery and assembling of modular tents in hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) amid the shortage of beds for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections.
The eight NCR hospitals that had already requested for modular tents were:
- Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC)
- Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (Tala)
- Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center
- Tondo Medical Center
- National Center for Mental Health
- Lung Center of the Philippines
- National Kidney and Transplant Institute
- San Lazaro Hospital
Tents for the JRRMC and the San Lazaro Hospital are set to arrive on Saturday.
The World Health Organization, on the other hand, would give four tents as local government unit-based triage areas.
According to the latest DOH data, 80% of the ICU beds in the NCR are being used while 63% of the mechanical ventilators are also being utilized.
Earlier, the Philippine Hospital Association said that hospitals were “overwhelmed and overrun” by the sudden spike of Covid-19 infections mainly due to their overworked and decreased manpower.
With this, the DOH planned to create extensions for level 3 hospitals. It covers the 44-bed modular hospitals at Tala and the Lung Center and the 110-bed capacity off-site modular extension at the JRRMC.
The DOH also advised the public to talk with their respective barangay authorities first before going to the hospital for assessment and referral to the right health facility.
The health department also encouraged the public to utilize their local government’s teleconsultation services, or use the free teleconsultation services of the DOH for non-urgent medical needs. Ronald dela Cruz