Private hospitals wary of possible new COVID-19 surge

A group of private hospitals on Monday said they may be hard-pressed to expand their intensive care units (ICUs) if ever there will be a new surge of COVID-19 cases.

Noting their experience during the surge in April, Dr. Jose Rene de Grano, head of the  Philippine Hospital Association of the Philippines (PHAP), said many of their healthcare workers had either resigned or transferred, affecting their operations.

"When the surge happened in April, there were a lot of our personnel who resigned or transferred. That is why our bed capacity is limited, while other hospitals have downsized," he said during the Laging Handa briefing.

"We have enough oxygen support, ventilators, but if there will be a surge, we cannot easily expand our intensive care units because it comes with huge expenses, with additional required equipment, as well as highly trained nurses and doctors," De Grano added.

As it is, private hospitals are mandated to allocate 30% of its capacity to COVID-19 patients.

De Grano then called on the public to strictly observe minimum health protocols and get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 soon as it is available.

"We have problems with vaccine supply but the local government units have been very quick in administering the vaccines," he said.

The Philippines has only been able to fully vaccinate around 3.5 million people, still below the target of vaccinating 58 million in highly urbanized areas by the end of the year.

Fear of another surge came as the Philippines detected 11 local cases of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. The 11 were among the 35 Delta variant cases currently on record in the country.

Of the number, three deaths have been recorded, according to the Department of Health.

Delta is the variant first detected in India. —KBK, GMA News