DAVAO Regional Medical Center (DRMC), the main Covid-19 referral hospital in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, can no longer cater to all types of patients needing oxygen due to a shortage in the supply of medical oxygen.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, September 7, DRMC said "all patients (Covid or non-Covid) referred for admission requiring supplemental oxygen will be assisted for admission to other facilities."
"Thus, we encourage you to seek medical attention at the nearest Local Government Unit (LGU) healthcare facility in your area," the hospital wrote.
DRMC said they are experiencing a shortage of medical oxygen supply.
"Our suppliers can no longer keep up with the hospital's increased demand for medical oxygen," it said.
The hospital is also requesting the public's "understanding and cooperation" as they are trying to address the situation.
According to the Department of Health (DOH)-Davao Region data as of September 6, DRMC has already 91 out of the 111 intensive care unit (ICU) beds occupied, while 71 out of the 189 isolation beds are already utilized. A total of 11 out of 19 mechanical ventilators are already utilized.
As of September 6, Davao del Norte has 13,132 Covid-19 cases. Of this number, 1,770 are active cases, 10,924 have recovered, and 438 have died.
Meanwhile, DOH-Davao reported on Monday, September 6, that the Covid-19 critical care utilization rate in Davao Region is currently at "high risk" following the large volume of Covid-19 patients.
Based on the data provided by the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao), 79.4 percent of the 233 intensive care units (ICU) beds in the region are already occupied. A total of 48 ICU beds are available.
Isolation beds in the region are 58.3 percent occupied with 333 out of 799 beds remain available. Ward beds in the region are 74.1 percent occupied with 210 out of the 811 beds remain available. While only 69 out of 104 mechanical ventilators unused.
"Maski atong pagbali-bali sa atong data, naa na gyud ta sa (No matter what we do with the data, we are already at a) high risk utilization, even if i-add up nato atoang mga private na hospital beds (we add up the number of hospital bed from private hospitals)," Dr. Rachel Joy Pasion, Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit Head of DOH-Davao said in a virtual presser.
The Southern Philippine Medical Center (SPMC), another Covid-19 referral hospital in the region, released an advisory last week informing the public that it has been experiencing an unusually high volume of patients needing admission for Covid-19.
As of September 6, the 92 ICU beds and the 496 ward beds of the hospital are fully occupied.
SPMC Chief Dr. Ricardo Audan attributed the large volume of patients to the Delta variant.