The Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) is now imposing a no visitor or watcher policy to prevent cross-contamination amid being the largest COVID-19 center in Cebu. |CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — To strengthen measures against “possible cross-contamination,” no visitor or watcher of admitted patients will already be allowed to enter the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) beginning noon of Tuesday, June 9, 2020.
In an advisory, VSMMC said the move is meant to ensure the safety of all stakeholders, amid the hospital’s being the largest medical facility catering to coronavirus disease patients.
The policy, however, does not apply to watchers of pediatric and renal patients.
Watchers for the pediatric patients may stay “subject to specific conditions set for patient care, signing of documents, education, and instructions, and counseling” while those attending to renal patients may stay up to four hours.
The hospital was recently accused that non-COVID-19 patients who were admitted there caught the virus while they were in the facility. VSMMC has repeatedly refuted this claim and said they are following infection control protocols to prevent such a scenario.
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“To ensure safety for all stakeholders, we strengthen our infection prevention control measures to fight against possible cross-contamination. This is for the interest of everyone’s welfare, protection, and for public health while ensuring quality health care service. This is our commitment,” the VSMMC said.
The hospital said that management will contact the watchers of the admitted patients if needed, while the latter may also reach out to the hospital “using any official communication platforms of the hospital” if they have concerns.
“Atong protektaran ang usag-usa kay ang COVID-19 naa ra bisag asa. (Let us protect each other because COVID-19 may be present anywhere.) Let us minimize contact, lessen the number of people, and ensure physical distancing inside the medical center,” the hospital administration said. / dcb