BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – More hospitals in Negros Occidental are no longer accepting patients due to lack of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) allocated beds, as well as manpower.
The Riverside Medical Center here announced over the weekend that it will no longer accept patients for Obstetrics preterm and critical cases, as well as pediatric critical cases, due to lack of personnel.
In an advisory on Sept. 12, the Bago City Hospital also temporarily halted accepting patients due to lack of beds and the number of COVID-hit individuals in its triage tents.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the Valladolid District Hospital COVID-19 allocated beds were fully occupied, while 80 percent of the 80 COVID-dedicated beds in the Cadiz District Hospital were also being utilized.
COVID beds at the Emergency Department of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital here also reached maximum capacity over the weekend.
In an advisory, the hospital said the slow turnover of Emergency Department isolation beds was due to the processing of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction swabs at their Molecular Laboratory.
The hospital also noticed an increasing number of walk-in patients.
On the other hand, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the construction of the Cadiz District Hospital annex building, which can accommodate 70 more beds, is expected to be completed within this month./PN
