COVID hospital beds

getting critically low

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Aug 12 (PIA) – If things do not really change much in the way people protect themselves from the coronavirus disease (COVID), those who fall ill with the viral disease contemplating to go for the tertiary public hospital in Tagbilaran may not find for themselves a bed.

This as authorities press even more the need for people to strictly follow minimum public health protocols and queue for the vaccines as soon as these are available to decongest these facilities that are nearing swamping.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Bohol COVID showed on Thursday, August 12 that Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) in Tagbilaran City has barely enough rooms to last a day.

The day found GCGMH with 33 of its 36 COVID Intensive Care Unit (ICU) occupied, only 3 COVID ICU beds vacant on that day.

As to the hospital’s COVID ward beds, as of Aug 12, 26 of their 28 rooms are already occupied, with only 2 vacant bed available.

All of the hospital’s 17 COVID Isolation beds are occupied as of the same day.

Of GCGMH’s 16 mechanical ventilators which are crucial in delivering oxygen to an oxygen-deprived patient to prevent organ damage, the hospital still has 9 available with 7 now occupied.

As to its 29 non COVID ICU beds, Gallares still has 9 beds available; 20 now fully occupied.

For its 125 non ICU beds which can be used for COVID patients, nearly hale or 61 are still available while 64 are occupied, according to the EOC dashboard maintained daily by Bohol Information Communication Technology Unit.

As to Bohol’s leading secondary hospitals, of a total of 12 COVID ICU beds, only 4 are available: 2 at the Ramiro Community Hospital (RCH), and another 2 at Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Care Hospital. The rest of the secondary hospitals in Tagbilaran have no COVID ICU bed provisions.

These secondary level hospitals like RCH, ACE Medical Center, Tagbilaran Community Hospital (TagComm), and Holy Name University (HNU), considering these are private hospitals, all do not have COVID wards too.

As to COVID isolation beds, of the total 69 beds, only 23 are available: Ace has 7, Ramiro has 3, TagComm has 8 and HNU has 5 beds available. At only 30% beds available, and only for paying patients, this is already enough cause for alarm, even to the moneyed.

For a total of 10 mechanical ventilators in these private hospitals, 8 are still available: 4 at ACE, 2 at HNU and one each for RCH and Tagcomm.

For non-COVID ICU beds, of the 14 from these hospitals, only 5 are available, 2 at HNU and 3 at TagComm, as to the EOC dashboard Aug 12.

For the cumulative 158 non-ICU beds for COVID patients, only 55 are available: 14 at ACE, 23 at RCH, 10 at TagComm and 8 at HNU.

In Bohol’s primary hospitals, the situation is even grimmer as only 1 of the 3 ICU beds is available: only at Don Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital (DEDVMH) in Ubay.

Of the 46 COVID ward beds in these hospitals, the only ones available are: 1 at Borja Family Hospital Corp.(BFHC), 1 at DEDVMH, 7 at Medical Mission Group of Hospitals (MMG) and 6 at Tagbilaran Haternity and Children’s Hospital (TMCH).

Only 16 of the COVID isolation beds are also vacant in the following: 7 at Catigbian District Hospital (CDH), 5 at Carmen’s Cong Simeon Toribio memorial Hospital (CSTMH), 1 at Dr. Lims Clinic and Hospital in Valencia and 3 at Jagna’s Teodoro B Galagar District Hospital (TBGDH).

The tertiary hospitals however still have 4 mechanical ventilators: 3 at DEDVMH and 1 at Dr Lims Clinic.

For the non-COVID ICU beds, these hospitals still have 14 available beds of the total number of 23 beds: 3 at BFHC and 11 at DEDVMH in Ubay.

As to their non ICU beds for COVID, of the 488 total beds from these hospitals, 317 are still unoccupied.

These are: 14 at BFHC, 15 at CDH, 30 at Concepcion Memorial Hospital, 18 at CSTMH, 86 at DEDVMH, 1 at Dr Lim’s Clinic and Hospital, 33 at Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital in Talibon, 29 at Lim Community Hospital in Valencia, 31 at MMGH, 8 at TMCH and 42 at TBGMH in Jagna. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

WHICH IS UNCOMFORTABLE? Many people do not wear a mask because it is uncomfortable. When infected with COVID and breathing becomes a problem, doctors would have to perform endotracheal intubation so they can thread a hose from the mouth to the lungs to supply oxygen through mechanical ventilators. Now which one is uncomfortable? (PIABohol/photo from alamy)