THE Department of Health (DOH) has required public hospitals nationwide to allocate as much as 70 percent of their facilities to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients amid the sustained surge in cases that has overwhelmed medical facilities all over the country.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a virtual press briefing, said the DOH has amended its prevailing guidelines on the COVID-19 bed allocation in public and private hospitals.
“For public hospitals, they are mandated 30 percent of their bed capacity must be allocated for COVID-19. If there will be a surge in cases, it can be increased to 50 percent, and up to 70 percent if necessary,” said Vergeire.
On the other hand, private hospitals have been allowed to reduce their mandatory bed allocation for COVID-19 cases.
“For private hospitals, we have also amended the policy with 20 percent allocated beds for COVID-19, and an additional 10 percent if there will be a surge in cases,” said Vergeire.
Prior to this, the DOH has required all private and public hospitals to allocate 30 percent of their capacities to COVID-19 patients.
However, the DOH has said that hospitals, both private and public, have had difficulties in complying with the said requirement for various reasons.
Aside from changing the bed allocation policy, the health official disclosed that they have also asked hospitals planning to expand their facilities to dedicate them to COVID-19 patients for the meantime.
This, she said, means that those with new buildings or hospital wings that will be opened in the coming days should be used in accepting COVID-19 patients as part of the government’s “One Hospital Command” system.
“There are hospitals where they have new buildings or additional wings that are set to be opened and they will now be solely dedicated for COVID-19,” said Vergeire.
Last Monday, National Task Force against COVID-19 head Carlito Galvez Jr. proposed the designation of hospitals, especially in Metro Manila, as exclusive facilities for patients with COVID-19.
The move, Galvez said, is aimed at ensuring that non-COVID-19 patients will not be displaced in medical facilities.
Aside from increasing hospital capacities, Vergeire said the One Hospital Command is also looking to further decongest hospitals of COVID-19 patients.
This, she said, means expanding the network of hospitals and the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs) in handling mild and asymptomatic cases.
“Before, only the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) have a formal network, wherein if the PGH has a patient that can already be discharged but still needs close monitoring or when a mild or asymptomatic patient walks in, they are automatically transferred to the PICC,” she said.
“We want other hospitals to do the same by forming a network and having arrangements with our TTMFs. That’s part of what we are doing right now so that we can further decongest our hospitals,” added Vergeire.
Based on the latest figures from the DOH, as of July 20, a total of 674 ICU beds are occupied out of 1,371 (49%); 2,160 ward beds are occupied out of 3,766 (57%); and 5,138 isolation beds are occupied out of 10,635 (48%).
COUNTRY IS DOING WELL — ROQUE
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday objected to statements that the government and its Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) have failed in their response and effort to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Roque, in an interview with CNN Philippines, said some critics are just using the issue of the COVID pandemic for politicking as he disagreed with the observation of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon that the IATF has failed to address the pandemic problem.
“I don’t think we failed. For as long as we did not meet the 3.5 projection of UP (University of the Philippines) — and UP has been very good at their forecast— I think we would have succeeded. We will always have different points of view, particularly those coming from the opposition, and I think they’re resorting to politicking stories,” he said.
He said that while the recent breaching of the 70,000 mark in terms of COVID-19 infections in the country is a cause for concern, it should not be a cause for alarm.
Roque said by comparing the current number of active cases with the forecasts from experts, the country is doing well.
He said had the national government failed to implement lockdowns, purchase test kits and personnel protective equipment, constructed and converted isolation and quarantine facilities, the country would be in worse situation.
“When you say that we have failed, it’s the fact that we have not reined the dead and people are dying en masse. And I think right now, hospitals have gained competence in dealing with COVID patients, and this is the reason why we have minimized death rates.
And for as long as we’re minimizing death rates, I think we have succeeded,” he said.
MORE TESTS, MORE CASES
Roque reiterated that as the government ramps up its COVID-19 testing, more positive patients would be discovered and more cases would be recorded.
He said the important thing is that as the number goes up, the government is able to find those who are positive, trace those that the patients had been in contact with and eventually isolate and treat them to prevent spreading the virus.
He said the government intends to do more testing in areas where localized lockdown would be implemented. Granular lockdowns are being implemented in areas with high incidence of infections and high doubling rates.
The government targets to test up to 10 million Filipinos or 10 percent of the country’s population by 2021.
Roque said the government is considering “pooled testing” which would hasten the screening of people and allow the government to test more people.
Under a pool testing scheme, one kit would be used to test up to 10 people. If the test showed a positive result, each one would undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test but if the test turns negative, everyone in the pool will be considered clear of COVID-19.
RECESSION
Drilon said the country must brace for recession as the next six months would be crucial in setting up the stage for economic recovery due to the effects of COVID-19.
Drilon issued the warning as he reiterated that the IATF failed to address the country’s worsening health crisis and the impacts of COVID-19, including the surging unemployment and involuntary hunger that hit 5.2 million Filipinos amid the pandemic.
“There is no question (that I see the Philippines heading into recession). The economies define recession as two quarters of economic contraction. In the first quarter, we already contracted by 0.2 percent and for the second quarter prediction is worse,” Drilon said.
“That means that the next six months will be a question of how to survive. They say that to survive in today’s situation is already a success. We must be able to survive s that we can set the stage for economic recovery,” he added. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa
