In Batangas City, a 54-year-old woman had been camping on makeshift cardboard outside the Batangas Medical Center (BatMC) for four days, as the hospital struggles to accommodate an overwhelming number of patients.
Elizabeth Estrillado, 54, said her son recently suffered from a stroke and while the hospital managed to accommodate him a day after he was brought to the hospital, watchers are not allowed inside because the facility is full.
"Sabi po dito ay nakakahingi ng tulong. Mayroon po ditong MSWD (Municipal Social Welfare and Development) na mahihingan, ‘yung sa iba naman daw po, eh, walang mahingan ng tulong," Estrillado said.
"Kahit nung hindi agad na-admit nung dalhin namin dito at pasalamat pa rin po kami at na-admit na kinabukasan," she added.
OVERCAPACITY
BatMC has issued a public advisory on its social media page, announcing that it has exceeded its maximum capacity for patient admissions.
The hospital, which has a bed capacity of 624 patients, has 684 patients as of August 2024.
This surge in patient admissions has prompted BatMC to limit new admissions strictly to critical emergency cases, such as those requiring surgery, chronic kidney disease, and severe gastrointestinal bleeding.
According to a hospital census, pneumonia remains the leading cause of consultation and admission at BatMC.
Dr. Jess Fernandez, Head of the Emergency Room, said not all pneumonia cases require admission to a tertiary hospital like BatMC and could be managed at local levels.
"‘Yun ho kasing pneumonia, may classification ho iyan. May cases ho ng pneumonia na pwedeng sa local level i-admit, pwede namang doon," Fernandez said.
As the primary referral center for the CALABARZON region, BatMC has been receiving patients from neighboring provinces that are unable to handle certain cases.
However, Fernandez noted that a lack of proper communication between referring hospitals and BatMC has contributed to the overcrowding.
"Mayroon pong system in place called SDN, Service Delivery Network. Ito po'y networking ng mga referring hospital. Ibig sabihin po, [ang] hospital A [may] ililipat dito sa BatMC, ico-coordinate po iyon to facilitate the transfer," Fernandez said.
QUALITY CARE
BatMC's management explained that the advisory was meant to inform the public, not to turn patients away.
The hospital continues to strive for balance between maintaining quality care and managing the influx of patients.
"We try to balance the quality of service kasi we are not up to the quantity, siguro unlogical ‘yun kapag marami ang pasyente," Fernandez said.
"We're trying not to compromise service. We cannot just discharge patients to accommodate ‘yung iba," Fernandez added.
