Hospital hit for allotting fewer beds for virus patients

MANILA, Philippines — One of the biggest hospitals in Valenzuela City has been warned by the mayor for not complying with the Department of Health’s (DOH) directive to allocate 30 percent of its bed capacity for coronavirus patients, resulting in smaller public and private hospitals taking in more cases.

In a forum with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Wednesday, Mayor Rex Gatchalian said that Fatima University Medical Center had been using only 13 of its critical care beds for new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, way below the requirement set by the DOH.

He added that the private hospital should have allocated up to 30 beds, as other facilities like the Valenzuela Medical Center had been accepting patients beyond their capacity.

“I’ve spoken to the owners and I’ve given them a stern warning. I told them that the second time around, it would be the DOH that would be calling them,” Gatchalian said.