ILOILO City – From 30 percent, Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao district plans to increase its bed capacity for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients to 50 percent.
Currently, the hospital has 128 COVID-dedicated beds. This will be increased to 213, according to WVMC spokesperson Richard Saltin.
The total bed capacity of WVMC is 425.
“Hopefully this June makumpleto na,” said Saltin over state-run Radyo Pilipinas-Iloilo.
A new four-storey building is being constructed within the medical center’s compound. Once completed, a portion of it would be converted into a COVID ward.
IMMENSE PRESSURE
As a COVID-referral hospital in Western Visayas, WVMC is currently being overwhelmed with patients. Cases are surging. Just this June 3, the region recorded an all-time single-day high of 654 COVID cases.
As of June 3, too, 85 COVID patients were confined at WVMC, plus another 69 suspected of having the viral disease.
Saltin said even the emergency room is jam-packed.
“May ara kita backlogs sa emergency room kay nagadamu na gid ang aton mga pasyente nga may COVID,” he lamented.
“Although may ara kita mga available beds para sa mga OB nga positive kag sa Gyne naton kag sa pedia, ini gamay na lang ang available beds… from time to time nagakapuno na gid ang aton available beds,” he further explained.
To reach their 50 percent COVID-bed capacity, Saltin said they are converting their existing ward for COVID suspects into a COVID ward.
Saltin noted that most of the COVID patients were from Iloilo City and some from Iloilo province. However, there were also from Negros Occidental.
WVMC is also in need of more medical staff, especially nurses.
The management is thankful that the city and provincial governments of Iloilo are hiring nurses to augment WVMC’s medical staff.
Also, government offices like the Bureau of Fire Protection, Police Regional Office 6 and Philippine Coast Guard are deploying their uniformed medical personnel to hospitals./PN
