THE emergency room (ER) of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila is temporarily accepting only life threatening cases, officials said yesterday, a day after fire hit the audio-visual room of its Department of Medicine.
“They are under Code Triage, which means they are turning away patients unless it is a real emergency case and until they have finished stabilizing movements of the displaced patients,” said Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Albert Domingo.
PGH spokesman Dr Jonas del Rosario said the ER remains at “full capacity.”
“We still have the patients from the affected wards in the ER,” he said.
“We’re informing the public that only very limited people could be allowed (in the ER),” he added.
Domingo said other hospitals under the Department of Health are ready to accept patients who cannot be accommodated by the PGH.
The fire affected the PGH’s Wards 1 2, 3, and 4, as well as the audio-visual room.
No one was hurt in the incident.
The Bureau of Fire Protection-National Capital Region (BFP-NCR) said investigators are still determining the cause of the fire that started at 3 p.m. and was put out at 4:30 p.m.
The BFP placed the cost of damage at P1.4 million.
Sixty-three ambulances responded to the fire — 14 from the BFP, 48 from fire volunteer groups, and one from the local government unit
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr commended BFP personnel for their “swift response.” — Gerard Naval and Victor Reyes
