A COVID-19 patient at St. Luke’s Medical Center now has to wait for three to five days for a bed or room to become available, its chief medical officer said Tuesday, March 23, 2021.
St. Luke’s ward and intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients in both its Bonifacio Global City and Quezon City facilities have been fully occupied since Monday noon, March 22.
Dr. Benjamin Campomanes, chief medical officer, said in a radio interview that occupancy in the Covid-19 ward and ICU in the Quezon City facility was 105 percent and 121 percent, respectively.
In Global City, ward bed occupancy was 129 percent while ICU admissions reached 135 percent of Covid-19 capacity.
Campomanes said they have provided extra beds in their emergency rooms to cater to more Covid-19 patients.
The average waiting time for a room is now between three and five days.
“Hindi naman namin matatanggihan ang ibang pasyente because we can’t do that. Kung kailangang i-hospital at walang malipatan - yung iba 5 to 6 ospital na ang pinuntahan—so paano mo naman tatanggihan yun,” he said.
(We could not say no to the patients. We can’t do that. Some of these patients had been to five or six hospitals already. How can we refuse them?)
Campomanes said they have enough healthcare staff to attend to Covid-19 patients but he was worried they will get exhausted and suffer from burnout due to “little time for rest.”
At the Medical City in Pasig City, 20 patients were still in the emergency room waiting to be admitted on Monday, March 22.
The hospital is providing care for 84 patients with moderate symptoms and 16 patients in the ICU.
"Lahat itong beds na allocated for moderate or critical patients ay fully occupied," Dr. Rafael Claudio said in a separate television interview.
The hospital announced Monday afternoon that it had reached full capacity for Covid-19 patients.
"Humihingi kami ng pag-unawa kasi di na kami makatanggap ng dagdag pang taong maghihintay sa ER. Kung pwede pakinabangan natin ang ibang ospital na nakalista sa One Hospital Command," he added.
(We are asking for understanding because we could no longer accommodate more patients at the ER. Other patients may go to other hospitals listed in the One Hospital Command.)
Claudio said they do not have enough manpower to make more beds available for Covid-19 cases because 67 of their health workers contracted the disease and 69 others are under isolation due to possible exposure.
Nine out of 10 hospital staff, or 90 percent, have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
At the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center (ARMC) in Marikina City, the Covid-19 beds were 80 percent full as of Tuesday.
Eight patients were waiting at the ER to be admitted to the ward. A total of 76 patients are receiving care, including six probable Covid-19 cases, said ARMC director Dr. Imelda Mateo.
“Wala nang paglagyan sa ward namin. Nasa ER po muna sila,” she said.
Mateo said three of four healthcare workers at the hospital, or 76 percent, have received their first dose of a vaccine.
In Valenzuela City, Mayor Rex Gatchalian said six of 10 Covid-19 beds were occupied.
Aside from PGH, St. Luke’s and The Medical City, the Asian Hospital Medical Center also declared full capacity for Covid-19 on Monday.
In his virtual press briefing Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said they have appealed to the hospitals to increase Covid-19 capacity to 30 percent for private hospitals and 50 percent for government hospitals.
Roque clarified that these hospitals still have available beds for non-Covid cases.
Under the One Hospital Command, Covid-19 patients may be referred to hospitals that still have available beds.
Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, who heads the One Hospital Command, said 78 percent of the isolation facilities which includes hospitals and temporary treatment and monitoring facilities in the NCR were occupied as of Tuesday, March 23.
Based on the DOH tracker, 37 hospitals in the NCR were classified as critical in terms of occupancy as of March 21. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)