COVID-19 protective equipment in NCR hospitals running out —PCP exec

Healthcare workers in Metro Manila hospitals are becoming more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) running out as the number of suspected and confirmed cases continues to rise.

A board regent of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), Dr. Rontgene Solante, expressed concern on Saturday, saying the existing supply of protective gear for medical workers in more than 60 private and public hospitals in the region will last only for a week  if not replenished with supplementary stocks from the government.

"That's the projection now if the rate of patients that we are getting now continues to increase because we're looking at worst case scenario, we're not looking at better scenario here like bababa ito [cases]," Solante told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

"The primary goal here is when you take care of patients with COVID, you prioritize the healthcare workers' protection para hindi mahawaan. That's what we call infection control in the hospital. Eh kung wala kang ganoong PPEs tapos may mga pasyenteng dumarating, talagang ang mangyayari niyan mai-infect ang healthcare worker," he added.

Solante, also the head of San Lazaro Hospital's Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medine Section, explained that all COVID-19 isolation rooms at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and at the hospital he works for are already full.

"The San Lazaro Hospital and the RITM cannot anymore accommodate the COVID patients because our capacity is limited. We have a lot of other infectious diseases. Where will we put our HIV, where will we put our tuberculosis, where will we put our dengue [patients]?" he said.

He added that more persons under investigation (PUIs) are being admitted now at private hospitals, prompting the said facilities to extend their COVID-19 isolation rooms and to double the demand for protective gear.

Several hospitals are currently relying on donations from various non-governmental organizations as their previous suppliers can no longer respond to their increased need, he said.

Solante said N95 and surgical masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles are most needed by the frontline workers who are taking care of the COVID-19 cases.

The 10,000 sets of PPEs donated by the Chinese government arrived in the Philippines on Saturday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Medical professionals getting sick

Members of the medical workforce, young and old, are not exempted from the threats of contagion, according to Solante.

"There are already doctors being admitted in different private hospitals, some of them are really in critical conditions," he added. 

"I don't have the specific numbers but each of the private hospitals have experienced that some of their doctors—whether it's a consultant, whether it's a resident, or a nurse—have turned out to be positive for the virus," he added.

The infectious disease expert said that designating exclusive COVID-19 hospitals in the country is imperative.

"We have to designate a center so that all the resources will focus on that hospital so that every patient that will stay there are purely COVID," Solante said.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said it plans to make the Philippine General Hospital and the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital exclusive hospitals for COVID-19 patients.

Solante said that aside from pooling in all needed medical equipment for COVID-19 response, like respirators and cardiac monitors, medical practitioners in the private sector are also willing to extend their help.

"We have to do that, this is a state of emergency. Wala nang private or government. It's a matter of collaboration," he added.

The PCP will help prepare a line list of all volunteer doctors who are willing to be deployed in COVID-19 healthcare facilities.

As of March 20, the Philippines has recorded 230 COVID-19 cases, most in Metro Manila. Eighteen of these infected patients succumbed to death while eight recovered. —LBG, GMA News