Robredo calls for urgency in setting up website for hospital room vacancies

Vice President Leni Robredo asked the government to “rush” the establishment of a website that would give real-time updates on hospital bed vacancies

In a Facebook post, Robredo lamented that she was receiving first-hand information on the scarcity of hospital beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

She mentioned some COVID-19 cases where patients died while looking for vacant hospital rooms.

“Baka naman puwede na natin itong i-rush. Doable naman siya. Kawawa yung mga kababayan natin,” she said.

Although she acknowledged that the Department of Health’s One Hospital Command has been helpful, Robredo said the system was overwhelmed.

“The hotlines are difficult to access and in emergency situations, every minute, every second counts,” Robredo noted.

“I have been proposing a site where people can just visit to check which hospitals can still accommodate them and how long the waiting line is. I was told there is already an existing one. I checked the site and there are no real-time updates and people won’t have an idea which hospitals still have vacancies.”

On Saturday, the DOH reported 12,576 new COVID-19 cases in the country. This number followed the all-time high 15,310 cases tallied on Friday.

As of Saturday, 80 percent of hospital beds in the National Capital Region are occupied, with 72 percent of isolation beds utilized, and 63 percent of ventilators used. — DVM, GMA News