By Sweeden Velado-Ramirez
There are 9,296 new cases of COVID-19 recorded as of March 30, 2021. The continued increase in numbers has taken a toll on the country’s health system, with hospital occupancy rates recording a spike.
Despite this, Dr. Ted Herbosa, University of the Philippines Executive Vice President (UP-EVP) and National Task Force against COVID-19 Medical Adviser, during the Laging Handa Briefing aired over PTV on March 31st strongly denied claims of the government’s critics that the country’s health system has already collapsed.
Dr. Herbosa admitted, however, that many hospitals situated in areas with high cases of COVID-19 are in a period of surge capacity.
Looking at the latest data by the Department of Health, the intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy rate in the national level is at 59% while the National Capital Region’s rate is at 76%.
“In areas like Metro Manila, ‘yun ang over capacity. Kaya nakakakita tayo ng tinatawag nating overcrowding sa ating mga emergency room (In areas like Metro Manila, these are over capacity. That’s why we see overcrowding in our emergency rooms),” Dr. Herbosa pointed out.
“Kung sasabihin niyong nag-collapse, hindi pa. Hindi pa. Ang nag-collapse ‘yung kagaya noong Typhoon Haiyan. ‘Yung health system po doon, talagang wasak ‘yung mga ospital, walang gamut. Nabasa lahat ng gamot. So ‘yun yung tinatawag na health system collapse (If you say that it has collapsed, not yet. Not yet. When we say collapse, this is something like what happened during Typhoon Haiyan. The health system there was really down with devastated hospitals, no medicines. All medicines were drenched),” the special adviser clarified.
Addressing reports that some hospitals refuse to accept COVID-19 patients, Dr. Herbosa explained that medical doctors practice the concept of triage where they admit and attend to patients first with severe COVID-19 cases.
“Akala dineny sila pero ang ibig sabihin noon, pwede sila either sa treatment facility or treatment sa bahay. In fact, some hospitals are doing home care monitoring lalo na doon sa may malalaking bahay. ‘Yung wala namang malaking bahay pwede sila doon sa mega facilities for monitoring. Dito ‘yung mga mild (They think that they have been denied but what it really means is that they can either go to a treatment facility or home treatment. In fact, some hospitals are doing home care monitoring especially for those who have big houses. But for those who do not have big houses, they can be admitted in mega facilities for monitoring. That’s where the mild cases go),” Dr. Herbosa expounded.
Dr. Herbosa encouraged the public to maximize the use of DOH’s One Hospital Command Center (OHCC) for COVID-19 emergency and hospital needs through 0919 977 333 or 0915 777 7777 for mobile and 02 886 505 00 for landline users. It is a healthcare referral network linked with service providers such as hospitals, quarantine facilities, and medical transportation with 90% success rate in ability to quickly connect and assist Filipinos needing medical attention.
