3 hospitals, 10 health centers in QC ready for firecracker victims —Belmonte

Three city-run hospitals and 10 Super Health Centers in Quezon City are now ready to accept and treat firecracker victims after Mayor Joy Belmonte activated them ahead of the New Year revelry.

In a statement on Tuesday, Belmonte said the city-run hospitals set to take in patients are the Quezon City General Hospital, Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital, and Novaliches District Hospital.

Meanwhile, the 10 Super Health Centers placed on standby are located in barangays San Francisco in District 1; Batasan, NGC, Betty Go Belmonte, Payatas and Bagong Silangan in District 2; Murphy in District 3; Kamuning in District 4; and AJ Maximo and Sta. Lucia in District 5.

“It’s better to be prepared for any eventuality than be caught offguard in case of emergencies,” Belmonte said in a statement.

“Our ten Super Health Centers are open 24 hours and are activated to assist and treat firecracker victims while our barangay health centers are placed on call to assist constituents with minor injuries.”

Belmonte tasked the City Health Department to submit to her office centralized data on all fire-cracker related cases. She also placed the city's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) office on yellow alert. The office is tasked to monitor the 180 firecracker/firework zones and the four major New Year countdown events to be held in Eastwood, Quezon Memorial Circle, SB Plaza in Novaliches, and Lo Loma.

The DRRM office, with the help of barangays, is also in charge of ensuring that ambulances deployed in all 142 barangays in the city have medical personnel and drivers on call in case of emergency.

Meanwhile, the Quezon City Police District is tasked to monitor, address and report on any crime-related incidents, and assign police officers in each barangay to enforce guidelines in firecracker zones. —Erwin Colcol/KBK, GMA News