GABMMC Director Dr. Ted Matin (left) and Manila Health Department chief Dr. Poks Pangan following a meeting on the coronavirus situation in the city of Manila. Photo by JERRY S. TAN
MCFH helped prevent overflow of COVID patients in Manila
THE construction of the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital (MCFH) saved the city-owned hospitals and other hospitals within Manila from certain overflow of COVID patients amid the current rise in cases.
Thus said Dr. Ted Martin, director of the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC), stressing that the directors of the six hospitals being run by the local government are extremely thankful that Mayor Isko Moreno has a foresight that became a huge factor in the city’s readiness for the current hike in coronavirus cases.
“A big factor that contributed to the local government’s preparedness is Mayor Moreno’s foresight, long planning and anticipation. A month before the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), he met with all of us with a directive to prepare our hospitals for a possible surge,” Martin said.
Martin also said that when the mayor began the construction of the field hospital, there were negative remarks that it will become nothing but a ‘white elephant.’
However, Martin said Moreno stood pat on his decision and even told the hospital directors to brush aside such remarks, saying he in fact would be happy if the field hospital does not get used because it would mean that the COVID cases are low.
Long prior to the surge, Martin said that the mayor also ordered oxygen tanks as ‘buffer stocks’of all the six city-run hospitals in addition to the sufficient supply they already have.
“If not for these measures and if the mayor caved in to criticisms and did not push through with the construction of the field hospital ay siguradong aapaw ang mga ospital dito sa Maynila,” Martin added.
Martin cited that in the case of GABMMC alone, which caters to Tondo 1 residents, the beds allotted for COVID cases never cease to be full.
The field hospital has a 344-bed capacity of which 311 or 90 percent are already occupied.
The six city hospitals, namely GABMMC, Ospital ng Tondo, Jose Abad Santos General Hospital, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Maynila and the Sta. Ana Hospital have a combined total of 491 COVID beds, based on the Department of Health directive for hospitals to allot a certain percentage of their total capacity for COVID cases. The occupancy rate in total is 317 beds or 65 percent, as of August 25.
