One Hospital Command: Emergency cases need to be in hospitals ASAP, but it takes hours to find bed

The One Hospital Command's aim is to place emergency patients in hospitals in less than an hour, but due to the lack of hospital beds, sometimes it takes up to four to six hours to do so, an official said on Saturday.

"Ang target ay less than one hour madala na natin sa ospital ang mga emergency case. Ang actual, minsan, tumatagal tayo ng four hours o six hours bago madala sa ospital," Dr. Bernadette Velasco, operations manager of  One Hospital Command Center (OHCC), said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(The target is to get emergency cases to hospitals in less than an hour. Actual time however sometimes is four to six hours before we are able to bring them to a hospital.)

"Admittedly nahihirapan tayo mag-endorse ng cases dahil puno ang mga ospital," she said.

(Admittedly, we are having a hard time endorsing cases because the hospitals are full.)

She also said that it is not just hospital beds patients need. They need to book an ambulance too, for instance.

However, the OHCC prioritizes emergency cases and closely coordinates with hospitals such that as soon as a hospital bed is made available, the patient is quickly brought there so his/her condition can be stabilized, Velasco added.

"'Yung mga stable at may time pa para maghanap ng available beds, ine-endorse natin sila sa mga LGU [local government unit] nila para ma-monitor ang kanilang lagay para kung sakaling maging malala ang sitwasyon ay madala sila agad sa ospital," she said.

(Those who are stable and still have some time to look for available beds are endorsed to the local government units so they can be monitored. In case their situation worsens, they will be immediately brought to hospitals.)

Velasco said hospitals in the National Capital Region also accommodate patients coming from Regions 4A and 3.

"Dito dinadala ang mga pasyente dahil ang kanilang mga region, medyo congested na rin po," she said.

(The patients are brought here [to NCR] because in their region, hospitals are also congested.)

Velasco said they sometimes ask patients if they prefer a government hospital or private hospital.

She added that hospitals in NCR, Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 4A, 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 6, 9 and Caraga are at high risk category.

Velasco said patients with mild cases of COVID-19 are urged to isolate at home to decongest hospitals.

Hospitals in Metro Manila and nearby areas are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, Dr. Marylaine Padlan of the OHCC said Friday during the Laging Handa public briefing.

Padlan made the admission given that a number of health workers have raised the concern that the health care utilization rate data presented by the government showing that utilization is not at 100% do not reflect the situation on the ground given that such data do not include the situation of hospitals’ emergency rooms.

Padlan said OHCC receives 400 to 500 calls asking for hospital admission for a COVID-19 patient per day. 

The Philippines on Friday reported 20,336 new COVID-19 cases, marking the second consecutive day where more than 20,000 daily infections were recorded.

According to the Department of Health, this brought the nationwide tally to 2,324,475 and active cases to 188,108, the highest since April 18.

DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 2,100,039 with 10,028 new ones.

Meanwhile, 310 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 36,328. —KG, GMA News