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DOH ordered to go on code white Sunday for May 13 polls


Government regional health offices and hospitals are to go on Code White alert on Sunday in time for the midterm elections this Monday.
 
Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona on Friday said this will allow hospitals to continuously monitor events in their respective areas.
         
“In anticipation of any eventualities that may occur during the 2013 National Elections the Code White Alert is raised in all DOH regional offices and hospitals effective May 12, Sunday,” Ona said in a post on the DOH's Facebook page.
 
He instructed regional directors of these health facilities to be vigilant and send flash reports of incidents to the DOH-Health Emergency Management Staff’s Operations Center.
 
The operation center can be reached via phone at 711-1001 and 711-1002.
 
Ona said the DOH-HEMS OpCen will actively monitor health emergencies nationwide and will coordinate with key agencies responding to such situations.
 
Regional offices are also to be prepared to "assist in any possible evacuation in their areas of jurisdiction."
 
Code White
 
Code White alert is adopted for national events, such as the 2013 midterm elections, where there is potential for mass casualty incidents, the DOH said.
 
It added a Code White alert also means hospitals' emergency medicines, especially in the trauma section, are fully stocked and made available at the emergency room.
 
"Under the Code White Alert, medicines and supplies in the operating rooms should likewise be reviewed and increased to meet sudden requirements, and other needs such as X-ray plates, laboratory requirements, and others should be made available and not required to be purchased by victims," it said.
 
Election day health tips
 
Meanwhile, Ona advised the public to avoid staying too long under the sun and to bring drinking water with them when they go to the polling places.
 
“The summer heat is still intense and the public would do well to take these precautionary measures while exercising their right to vote,” he said. —KG, GMA News
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