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Hospital staff intubates patients in the parking lot due to COVID-19 surge –Robredo


Staff at a hospital has started intubating their patients in the parking lot due to a lack of available beds amid the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, Vice President Leni Robredo said Saturday.

“Pero mayroong isang ospital na ang sabi sa amin, ‘Huwag na kayo ditong pumila kasi hindi namin kayo maaasikaso, kasi kahit sa ER saka sa parking lot, nag-iintubate na kami’,” Robredo said in an interview on Radyo Katipunan.

[There’s one hospital that told us, "We cannot accommodate you. Even in the emergency room and the parking lot, we are intubating patients."]

“[I]n fact, may mga kaibigan ako na magulang nila, kapatid nila, na iyon ang sinasabi nila, nasa ER nang ilang araw na, nasa parking lot na lang,” she added.

[In fact, I have friends whose mother, siblings, have been in the emergency room and the parking lot for several days.]

As of March 21, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that 28 hospitals across the National Capital Region no longer have available intensive care unit (ICU) beds for COVID-19 patients.

Robredo said authorities should accept that hospitals have become “overwhelmed” and “overburdened.”

“Ano iyong sunod nating gagawin? Matuto tayo sa experience ng iba,” she said.

[What should we do next? We should learn from the experience of others.]

The Vice President cited how New York handled its lack of hospital beds by giving incentives to other hospitals to convert wards for COVID-19 cases while it invited health personnel from other states.

“[I]yong nangyari sa New York, nag-ano siya, nag-invite siya ng mga health personnel from other states, and nag-offer siya ng matataas na salaries para pumunta,” she said.

[What happened with New York was that it invited health personnel from other states and they offered higher salaries to encourage them.]

Robredo said they were looking into renting a facility for individuals with only mild COVID-19 symptoms, adding that some quarantine facilities could be converted.

“Tapos mag-assign ng mga doktor or mag-provide tayo ng libreng tele-medicine, tele-consult, para doon sa mga mild lang iyong symptoms, hindi nila kailangang pumunta pa sa ospital, mayroon na silang kausap,” she said.

[Then we can assign doctors or we can provide tele-medicine, tele-consult, so that individuals with mild symptoms will no longer need to go to the hospital.]

“Or maggawa tayo ng isang pool ng parang visiting, visiting ng mga doktor or nurses iyong mga nasa bahay,” she added.

[Or we can create a pool of doctors and nurses who can make house calls.]

The Philippines reported a total of 712,442 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 581,161 have recovered and 13,159 have died. — DVM, GMA News

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