Central Luzon regional hospital stops accepting COVID-19 patients

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga – The management of Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) has announced that the regional health facility has to stop accepting COVID-19 patients after exceeding its full bed capacity.

In an announcement posted on its Facebook page, the hospital management said that “beginning Friday, September 10, 2021, the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital has to temporarily stop acceptance of COViD-19 case referrals due to the fact that the facility’s COVID-19 wards and COVID-19 critical care units has reached full capacity.”

The announcement also said there are still many patients in the emergency room and isolation tents at the hospital compound who have been waiting to be admitted.

The management asked the public not to go to the regional hospital as “walk-in” patients because they could no longer be accommodated. It said Central Luzon residents should instead call the JBLMGH referral hotlines in their respective provinces and cities to get situational information and referrals to other health care facilities.

As a Level 3 hospital, the management said JBLMGH is tasked to take care of COVID-19 patients with severe and critical symptoms. The hospital management advised patients experiencing mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms to approach Level 1 or Level 2 medical facilities instead.

Last August 10, JBLMGH also announced that it will no longer accept “walk-in” COVID-19 patients due to lack of beds.

As of September 9, the Department of Health in Central Luzon recorded a total of 214,569 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic started in March last year. Of this figure, 190,467 recovered and 4,634 died.