NKTI patients lie on floor at hospital driveway due to full wards, tents

Some patients at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute have been lying on the floor at the driveway of the government hospital after it had been filled to capacity over the past several days.

According to Raffy Tima's report on "24 Oras", photos showed patients and their companions lying on cartons with wheelchairs and oxygen tanks nearby.

Dr. Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete, executive director of NKTI, said even the hospital tents were already at  full capacity.

She said the emergency rooms were also overwhelmed since COVID-19 cases continued to surge.

"Even our emergency room, we partially closed it because we have to put some negative pressurization at the exhaust," Liquete said in an interview with Super Radyo DZBB.

"That is one of the reasons why until now there are still many patients positive for the virus instead of negative, compared to last year. So they cannot go inside. They still wait for swab testing," she added.

"These patients know that we are already at full capacity, this means they are waiting," Liquete said.

Liquete said patients chose to wait for medical treatment at NKTI for fear that other hospitals might reject them.

"Mostly are in wheelchairs. We can't place a cot bed. We have many watchers but of course some Filipinos have more than one watcher. And these watchers take up more space," Liquete said.

"Even if they know we are already full, they are still waiting because hospitals might refuse them," she added.

The NKTI chief said there were also fewer nurses because some had resigned while others had been isolated due to infection with COVID-19.

This resulted in the closure of three COVID-19 wards, Liquete said.

Health Chief Francisco Duque III said the Philippine Red Cross sent 20 to 25 additional tents to augment NKTI's facilities and to give a more comfortable waiting room for patients.

As of Monday, Philippines' total COVID-19 cases reached more than a million, with 914,952 recoveries and 16,853 total fatalities. --Ma. Angelica Garcia/NB, GMA News