88 NCMH staff, patients positive for COVID-19

UNDERMANNED Due to the large number of infected personnel, the National Center for Mental Health in Mandaluyong City will accept only severe cases. —EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines —A total of 88 personnel and patients of the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City have tested positive for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to NCMH chief Roland Cortez.

In a press briefing, Cortez said that as of Tuesday, 11 employees and a patient had already recovered, leaving 71 NCMH personnel and 17 psychiatric patients positive for COVID-19.

None of the employees, however, were being treated in the facility, with 55 on home quarantine and the remaining five confined in various other hospitals.

The large infection rate has strained the resources of the hospital, which is under the Department of Health (DOH), forcing it to limit its intake of patients—even as psychologists have warned that the global pandemic could aggravate mental health issues.

“We will accept psychiatric patients,” Cortez said. He added, however, that they would admit only severe cases such as suicidal individuals or those prone to harming themselves or others.

“If it’s something like anxiety disorder, we are telling people that for now, we will not take them in,” he said.

A check of the NCMH website showed that in 2015, it had a staff of 1,981, consisting of 116 doctors, 1,020 nursing staff, 160 medical ancillary personnel and 683 administrative support staff.

It earlier attracted controversy after Clarita Avila, its former chief administrative officer, went public with allegations of a dire situation at the hospital, where both employees and patients were allegedly left extremely vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

After speaking out, Avila was transferred to the Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Las Piñas by the DOH. She was with NCMH for 30 years.

In Manila, the emergency room (ER) of a public hospital was temporarily closed on Tuesday after seven medical front-liners tested positive for COVID-19.

Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center director Ted Martin said the ER would be closed until Tuesday next week to give way to its sanitation and disinfection. —With a report from Nikka G. Valenzuela INQ