‘FULL TO THE SEAMS’: Doctor describes dire condition in hospitals; Bacolod mayor seeks help from Duterte

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – A practicing doctor of a private hospital here is appealing to the public to stay home to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In a message sent to City Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., Dr. Philip Kho said all COVID wards of private and public hospitals in the city are full.

His message, which went viral on social media Tuesday, warned that no amount of name-dropping and asking for help from influential people will open the doors to overwhelmed hospitals.

“Even the isolation areas and holding areas for COVID in OPD (outpatient department) and ER (emergency room) are full. They will all reject you. No one will be able to help gid, even if mag drop names pa kamo. Believe me,” Kho said.

Kho said that there are many personalities asking for his assistance.

“Sorry pero even powers ko are all useless because it is that full. Kaluluoy ka nalang gid kay u will end up just staying and dying at home if your condition deteriorated,” Kho added.

“So please stay home and be careful. This is the worst I have seen it and it will continue to go bad.”

Kho said he also must wear personal protective equipment even he is holding clinics. He decided to stop his clinic starting Wednesday for their own security.

“It’s so bad na while ga clinic ko, ga spacesuit na ko. Don’t want to leave anything to chance. Last day ko na bwas clinic. Amo na gid ni ka lain subong.”

Kho said Bacolod City might suffer a fate worse than Metro Manila and Cebu because of the limited number of hospital beds.

Even health workers had to resign because of fear of getting infected.

“I think we might end up worse here than Cebu or NCR kay pila man lang hospitals ta di. Mga nurses sa covid wards nag-resign out of fear. Ang mga nurses sa iban na wards na i-pullout para i-assign sa covid ward indi man gusto, so ga-file leave or resign man. So wala may ma man sang wards so ga-translate to full capacity na.”

 

APPEAL FOR HELP

In a letter to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor Evelio Leonardia sought immediate help in beefing up the city’s health care system.

Leonardia asked an augmentation team of 150 nurses, 20 doctors, and 30 medical technologists from the Department of Health DOH to Bacolod as an “emergency stop-gap measure” before the city’s health care system bogs down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The recent spike in local transmissions of COVID-19 in our City has filled up, in no time, the 149 COVID beds in our 7 hospitals (1 government and 6 private). The situation was worsened because many of the medical staff in these hospitals had tested positive for the virus and had to go on quarantine/isolation and they have not yet reported back for work, while several others have resigned or have gone AWOL. Most of these personnel are nurses,” he said.

The mayor added that “these hospitals have turned away COVID patients or those with COVID symptoms saying they are already full or that there are no more doctors and nurses to take care of new COVID-suspect patients as of that day.”

Unlike other cities, Leonardia said Bacolod does not have many hospitals.

“We only have 4 infectious disease specialists on active duty in these 7 hospitals. And on top of that, our medical staff in these hospitals are depleting for above reasons. There are practically no takers for our offers to hire new doctors and nurses. Our need for medical staff to fill up the gap in our hospitals is great, Mr. President. Patients have already died in their homes for failing to avail of emergency hospital services, which help they could have been given had there been enough medical personnel at these hospitals.”

 

MECQ

Earlier, a group of physicians again called on the city and provincial government officials to place this city and province of Negros Occidental under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The group “Active Infectious Disease Consultants of Bacolod City” said in a letter that “rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental deeply concerns the medical community due to the current sustained community transmission.”

Almost every day, more and more healthcare workers are being infected with COVID-19 infection, the group added.

The capacity of our hospitals and quarantine facilities are getting overwhelmed. We do not want this to be out of control like what is happening in the National Capital Region and Cebu.”

“We humbly reach out to your good office and highly recommend the optimal limitation of the movement of the people of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental by declaring a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine,” he further said.

The physicians said the MECQ will contain COVID-19 cases and “prevent extensive spread” which will aid the medical sector in handling patients.

Two weeks of timeout would mean two weeks of saving lives.

Over the weekend, a frontliner of the Bacolod City government died at his home after hospitals here and Cadiz City refused to admit him for lack of beds.

Jesryl Bancaya, a technical staff of Bacolod Councilor Israel Salanga, was a suspected COVID-19 patient who initially suffered shortness of breath.

Reports indicated that Bancaya had a seizure Sunday and was brought to several hospitals in Bacolod but they could not accommodate him since these were overwhelmed with patients.

He was then brought to a hospital in Cadiz City but was also turned down.

It is not only Bacolod City and Negros Occidental that is suffering from bed shortage.

Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao, Iloilo City is no longer admitting patients due to the rising number of infected personnel and after reaching its full bed capacity.

On Aug 23, West Visayas State University Medical Center also announced that it will stop accepting new COVID patients after reaching full capacity.

The private St. Paul’s Hospital of Iloilo (SPHI) also suspended admission of COVID-19 cases starting Aug. 19, and its obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) services from Aug. 22 to 31.

“Our facilities for COVID-19 cases have reached full capacity and we can no longer accommodate new COVID cases for the time being,” it said in an advisory            .

A similar problem also affected Iloilo Mission Hospital in Iloilo City and Don Jose S. Monfort Medical Center Extension Hospital in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.