Siquijor hospital caters to all patients amid COVID-19 surge

LARENA, Siquijor, Sept. 30 (PIA) -- Despite the surge of COVID-19 cases in the province, not a single patient is left waiting outside of the Provincial Hospital. 

This is according to newly designated Officer-in-Charge George Walthrode Opay of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) during the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force meeting on Sept. 28. 

“Wala ta’y patient nag-atang sa gawas, admitted silang tanan (We have no patients waiting outside),” said Opay as he laid down his plans and measures to properly manage the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the province. 

“I really want to be aggressive in curbing this COVID-19,” he said, noting that the behavior of the virus in Siquijor is likely that of the Delta variant with the rising number of reported and unreported cases. 

Opay said with the COVID-19 patients now transferred to the new hospital in Caipilan, Siquijor, they now have 163 beds which are all occupied, from a total bed capacity of 75 at the old hospital. 

FILE PHOTO: The Provincial IATF meeting attended by some members of the RIATF MEID. 

But while the new setup is still ongoing, they continue to add more beds to accommodate more patients. 

He said his team is working to come up with a segregated ward for moderate, mild and uncontrolled co-morbidities and severe to critical patients, which he admitted was not yet done.

“Sa pagkakaron nagsagol pa gyud atong ward (As of now, they are not segregated),” he said, adding that the team is in the process of getting the census of admitted patients and how many of them are critical, severe, mild with uncontrolled comorbidities and who are vaccinated and unvaccinated, as well as the number of beds available. 

To come up with a smooth setup, Opay asked the Municipal Health Units (MHUs) to give their daily census so he will have a clear picture of the situation in the municipalities as to the number of positive patients and occupied and available isolation facilities for proper turnover. 

As of this writing, Opay said he has allocated 12 out of the 163 beds for severe and critical COVID-19 cases and 100 for moderate cases, including those that require oxygen. 

The mild and uncontrolled comorbidities, he said, will be placed at the right or left wing of the new hospital which require less monitoring because they are seen to be stable. 

He said the provincial government has also acquired 80 tanks of oxygen with expected delivery every three to four days, and will continue to acquire more as buffer stock. 

Currently, apart from the oxygen tanks, the provincial hospital also has 15 oxygen concentrator units and is working on its request for medical staff augmentation from DOH-7, said Provincial IATF Spokesperson Brylle Deeiah Tumarong. 

She said the province will now work for the strict implementation of the executive order placing Siquijor province under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions and defining additional guidelines and protocols which Gov. Zaldy Villa signed and issued on Sept. 30, 2021. (RAC/PIA7 Siquijor)