PGH ready to function as referral hospital for COVID-19 patients Friday

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in Manila will be ready to start accepting patients positive of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a referral facility of the Department of Health (DOH) starting Friday.

“Ang PGH ay paunang naglaan ng 130 beds para sa COVID patients at handa naman silang tumanggap ng mga pasyente sa darating na Biyernes (PGH has initially readied 130 beds for COVID patients and they will be ready to accept COVID-19 patients this coming Friday),” Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

PGH is one of the three referral hospitals being set up by the DOH. The other two are Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center in Caloocan City and the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City.

Vergeire said this is just the initial list, as the health department is still looking for additional facilities that can be tapped as referral centers for COVID-19 patients.

She added the DOH is also studying the ability of the Quezon Institute and the Philippine Red Cross to be its partners in setting up the country’s first-ever community quarantine facility where patients under investigation, persons under monitoring, and COVID-19 patients who have been discharged after recovering from the disease will be housed.

“Ang community quarantine facilities ay mga lugar kung saan maaari silang magmonitor nang hindi sila nahahalo sa mga severe cases(Community quarantine facilities are places where their health condition can be monitored without being mixed with patients of severe cases),” explained Vergeire, who also called on local governments units to set up their own community quarantine centers.

Vergeire said that once referral hospitals are set up, other hospitals would no longer have to accept patients suffering from the illness.

But should patients still come to other hospitals for treatment of signs of the disease, she said these hospitals will then assess if they are showing severe symptoms or belonging to the vulnerable population. Patients belonging to these categories will then be referred to the DOH referral hospitals.

If the patient is showing mild symptoms, he will then be advised to undergo home quarantine or may be also brought to the community quarantine sites once these are set up.

As of 4.p.m. Wednesday, the country has already recorded 38 deaths—with three additional fatalities—as well as 636 confirmed cases. A total of 26 persons who tested positive for the virus have recovered.