ARC Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City is one of the hospitals considered to conduct tests for COVID-19. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — More hospitals around the country are being considered to conduct coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test, including one in Lapu-Lapu City.
ARC Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City is included in the list the Department of Health (DOH) issued on Sunday, April 5, 2020, that showed the names of hospitals and laboratories assessed nationwide to determine their COVID-19 laboratory capacities.
It is the first privately owned health facility in Cebu, and in Central Visayas, to be considered to run COVID-19 tests.
The hospital is still at Stage 1 of the accreditation process which means its management will have to conduct self-assessment based on a set of ‘assessment tools’ set by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Components of these tools pertain to access to the laboratory, design of the laboratory, use of laboratory, administrative control and management, records and documentation, and personnel practices and training.
Presently, the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) is the only health facility located in Central Visayas qualified to do COVID-19 tests. The VSMMC caters to both Central and Eastern Visayas regions as well as Northern Mindanao and Caraga.
Status
But DOH is also considering to activate the testing capacities of two other state-run hospitals in Central Visayas.
These are the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, and Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.
In a recorded video interview issued to the media, Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of DOH in Central Visayas (DOH-7), said laboratory set-up and evaluation of pathologists were ongoing in Bohol’s provincial hospital.
“Anytime, they will be submitting themselves for inspection,” Bernadas said.
Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center is now in Stage 2 while NOPH is at Stage 1.
Bernadas said there were still more work to be done at NOPH which would include the process of converting one of its facilities to a molecular laboratory — the primary requirement for a COVID-19 testing laboratory.
“There are a lot of things to comply with NOPH’s status. But on the other hand, there’s nothing to worry about since there are no concerns in transporting the specimens to and from Negros Oriental,” he added.
Accreditation
Accreditation of COVID-19 test laboratories is divided into five stages, with Stage 5 marking the full-scale implementation.
While Stage 1 meant that hospitals are still subject to self-assessment, Stage 2 indicates that a laboratory or health facility is ready for inspection from representatives of DOH, RITM, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Stage 3 involves training for personnel expected to run and manage the laboratory.
Hospitals can start accepting COVID-19 samples once they reach Stage 4.
In order to proceed to Stage 5, RITM has to affirm the results of their first five positive samples they conducted during the previous phase./dbs