236 health facilities, 25 in NCR, log critical-risk utilization rate –DOH

Over 200 health facilities across the country, 25 of which are in Metro Manila, have registered a critical-risk healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) of 85% or higher as the country battles a fresh spike in cases, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the HCUR refers to the occupancy of isolation, ward, and intensive care unit beds, as well as the utilization of mechanical ventilators.

“Nationwide, 56% ang ating HCUR but looking at it granularly, we see 236 facilities nationwide ay nandoon sa level na critical… and 25 of these 236 facilities are in the National Capital Region,” she said in a briefing.

(Nationwide, our HCUR is 50% but looking at it granularly, we see 236 facilities nationwide are at the critical level… and 25 of these 236 facilities are in the National Capital Region.)

The DOH earlier reported that the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has been detected in all 17 areas in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said the DOH has been continuously hiring health workers since cases increased in March this year, with 4,851 health workers hired in the past four months.

“Dito po sa ating targeted number of those to be hired, naka-97% na po tayo across all of our regions,” she said.

(We have reached 97% of our target number of hires across all regions.)

Vergeire explained that the target number of hires is estimated based on the needs of each area, adding that a recomputation will be done to account for the Delta variant.

Nurses group Filipino Nurses United earlier said the number of health workers hired by the DOH is “way below” the promise of President Rodrigo Duterte in his 2020 State of the Nation Address to hire 20,000 health workers this year.

The group previously said a random survey it conducted found that most government hospitals have a shortage of 40 to 50 nurses based on bed capacity.

The Philippines has once again been classified as a high-risk area for COVID-19 due to the continued rise in infections. — DVM, GMA News