In Cebu City, state hospital asks help from other hospitals, health facilities

Ambulances line up at the driveway leading to the emergency department of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. | Photos courtesy of VSMMC

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Patients bound for the emergency department of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) may have to wait inside ambulances for a while.

This developed after the hospital administration announced through Facebook that they have been implementing several measures to prevent cross-infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) between patients, and healthcare workers there.

As a result, VSMMC disclosed that such policies have indirectly affected their capacity in responding to the flow of patients for their emergency department.

“We regret that patients may have to wait inside ambulances before they are catered into the ED. We apologize to our patients and their families if such has caused them undue anxiety and inconvenience and humbly seek for their understanding and cooperation,” VSMMC said.

“Due to the influx of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in the light of Covid-19 pandemic on top of the continuation of the regular ED services, we have set up protocols to stop cross infections, which may unintentionally affect the flow of incoming patients, notwithstanding the increasing statistics of Covid-19 positive cases,” they added.

The hospital is also asking other nearby health facilities to help them prevent their emergency department from being overwhelmed.

“We assure the public that VSMMC is exhausting all possible means to be responsive to our patients’ needs. At this point, we would also like to request for the assistance of other hospitals and healthcare facilities to cater to whatever cases they can to prevent overwhelming our ED,” VSMMC added.

As of May 7, 2020, the hospital has accommodated a total of 45 documented COVID-19 patients, 31 of whom are still considered active cases and remain in their care. Three have already been discharged while 11 have succumbed to the disease.

Hospital beds in CV

Data from experts of the University of the Philippines (UP) revealed that Central Visayas, where Cebu belongs, has over 5,200 hospital beds and at least 164 ICU beds that can accommodate patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.

However, they warned that the region could face a mild shortage in beds from Level 2 and 3 hospitals, and severe shortage in ICU beds if the COVID-19 crisis peaks with over 1,600 individuals needing hospital care.

Read: Study says CV could face shortage in hospital beds if COVID-19 peaks

They are projecting that the region could be suffering from “mild shortage” when the COVID-19 crisis peaks with 1,628 individuals needing hospital care. /bmjo