MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday afternoon said that all hospitals in Metro Manila are ready to accommodate the displaced patients from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (PGH).
This was after a fire broke out at the hospital’s main building around 3 p.m., prompting patients, doctors, and staff to evacuate the PGH’s premises.
READ: PGH fire now under control — BFP
“Upon finding out of a fire at the UP-PGH, the DOH Health Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) extended assistance to UP-PGH for the transfer of patients to various DOH hospitals,” the health department said in a message to reporters.
“All DOH hospitals in NCR (National Capital Region) have been alerted and are prepared to accommodate patients,” it added.
The Bureau of Fire Prevention declared the fire under control at 3:45 p.m. and declared a “fire out” by 4:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, according to PGH spokesperson Jonas del Rosario, up to 180 patients, including eight from the Intensive Care Unit, were temporarily evacuated by hospital staff due to the blaze.
However, no patient would have to be transferred to other hospitals, he said.
He likewise noted that the origin of the fire is still being investigated, but it seemed to have originated from the hospital’s audio-visual room located in Ward 1.
As for whether the PGH is still accepting patients, Rosario explained that the hospital is currently under “Code Triage” which means that it is only accommodating patients with life-threatening conditions.
They will only lift the code once the patients have already returned to their respective wards, the PGH official said.
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DOH’s statement added that it is instructing all its hospitals to review their fire evacuation plans and conduct risk analyses for fire prevention on their premises.