BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Occupancy rate of the rooms intended for Covid-19 patients in different hospitals in Bacolod City was at 47.28 percent, as of yesterday.
This was confirmed by Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical and data analysis of the city Emergency Operations Center, to the DAILY STAR, who added that they already expected the occupancy rate to increase.
Sorongon said the increase was triggered by the surge of cases, both in Bacolod and nearby towns and cities.
He said that at the government-run Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital alone, the Covid wards were already 30 percent occupied, while a 20-percent occupancy was noted in private hospitals.
Sorongon also said that they will tackle the issue on occupancy rates of Covid facilities with the hospital heads today, and additional facilities for patients are eyed as a possible remedy.
He admitted that there is also a shortage of hospital personnel since some of them have been infected by the disease, too.
COORDINATED TRANSFER ONLY
Since Monday, the CLMMRH was accepting only coordinated patients’ transfer within the Service Delivery Network for patient care admission.
Dr. Julius Drilon, hospital chief, said the SDN includes local health centers, provincial and district hospitals, and those facilities within Bacolod.
Drilon said the CLMMRH will continue to accept patients assessed by the hospital physicians as extreme emergency cases.
He explained that the changes are due to the limited medical resources, such as mechanical ventilators and the increasing Covid infections among the hospital workforce that affect the current healthcare services.
Drilon also said the hospital observes strict health quarantine protocols and infection control policies to curb the spread of the disease that has impacted on the manpower ratio of the required level of care. The CLMMRH management is asking for public understanding and urging those concerned to call 702-4480, 701-7865, or 703-1350.*
