CEBU City Councilor Dave Tumulak confirmed the death of a Covid-19 patient who expired in an ambulance while waiting in a private hospital on July 24, 2021.
The patient was a 28-year-old female call center agent who had asthma.
Tumulak said the patient was put on hotel isolation even if she already experienced severe symptoms of Covid-19, as hospitals were full and could no longer accommodate Covid-19 patients.
But when the patient’s oxygen saturation started to drop to 40, she was extracted from the isolation site and was rushed to the nearest private hospital.
The hospital staff, however, refused to accept her and did not revive the patient because they were already full.
Tumulak said the victim needed to be intubated but the medics at the ambulance cannot do the procedure.
He said that there was also one Covid-19 patient who was in critical condition in an ambulance and whose oxygen saturation dropped to 75 while waiting for availability in a hospital.
Tumulak said he is set to meet with hospital administrators after meeting ambulance operators.
"Subo kaayo nga palandungon. So right after sa meeting sa ambulances, makigmeeting sad ko sa atong mga hospitals," he said.
"Kining mga ingun ani nga sitwasyon, we need their help, kay as much as we can, as much as we want to save lives, duna sad mi limitations," he added.
Tumulak said that temporarily, they will recall 11 ambulances from the barangays to help the Covid-19 response of the Emergency Operations Center. (MVE)