AMID COVID-19 SURGE

Gov't hospitals, temporary treatment centers in Cebu City 'underutilized' –DOH

Government hospitals and temporary treatment facilities in Cebu City are underutilized amid the surge of COVID-19 cases there, according to newly appointed Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega on Friday.

Interviewed on Dobol B s News TV, Vega blamed the "mismatch" on poor coordination between hospitals and temporary treatment facilities.

“Napupuno iyong private hospitals pero iyong sa government hospitals, katulad nung Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, 1,200 ang bed capacity, 400 nga ang ventilators, pero walang masyadong laman. Mayroong mismatch kasi walang network [of coordination], “ he said.

“Itong temporary treatment facilities, underutilized kasi ayaw magpa-admit ng mga pasyente roon kung wala namang doktor,” Vega added.

Vega, however, said the such gaps are now being addressed with the deployment of doctors from the ranks of the military, as well as volunteer doctors from Northern Luzon, in temporary treatment facilities.

“Kailangan talaga ng partnership,” Vega said.

As for hospitals, Vega said the Department of Health (DOH) has enjoined these facilities to allocate 30% of its bed capacity to COVID-19 patients since the current threshold just hovers around 8 to 10%.

“8 to 10% lang kasi, kaya kailangan talaga i-increase ang bed capacity,” he said.

Under DOH protocol, mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients can be confined at home, provided that the patient has a separate room equipped with bathroom exclusively for the use of the patients.

If the home is not equipped with such a facility, the DOH said that mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients should be confined in temporary treatment facilities so that the hospitals can focus on treating severe and critical cases.

Cebu City has over 7,000 COVID-19 cases. As a result, it is the lone area in the country under enhanced community quarantine, a protocol which requires physical distancing and bans mass gathering , mass transport and non-essential work. --KBK, GMA News