By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
More hospitals in Negros Occidental are no longer accepting patients due to lack of COVID-19 allocated beds or manpower shortages.
The Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City announced over the weekend that it will no longer accept patients for OB pre-term and critical cases, as well as pediatric critical cases, due to lack of personnel.
In an advisory on Sunday, September 12, the Bago City Hospital has temporarily halted accepting patients because of no vacancy and the presence of COVID-19 positive patients in its triage tents.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the Valladolid District Hospital COVID-19 allocated beds were fully occupied and 80 percent of the 80 beds for COVID patients at the Cadiz District Hospital are also being used.
The Emergency Operations Center of Bacolod City, meanwhile, reported that hospital bed utilization has hit 86 percent as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
“As much as we want to cater to all COVID-19 patients who are moderate to critical, the hospital is adamant due to the various constraints, such as the availability of manpower and beds,” the advisory issued by the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital said.
On the other hand, Governor 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.
As of Sunday, Negros Occidental has 1,810 active COVID-19 cases. Lacson has earlier attributed the increase to variants of COVID-19, especially the more transmissible Delta variant.
The Department of Health in Western Visayas has placed Bacolod City under Alert Level 4, a notch higher in terms of risk transmission level, while Negros Occidental remained under moderate risk area or Alert Level 3./DGB, WDJ