By Warren Valdez
DAVAO CITY - A health official here has appealed for donations as private and public hospitals are currently experiencing severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPEs).
“We need more PPEs for our frontliners,” Dr. Roy Ferrer, Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary for health field implementation and coordinating team for Visayas and Mindanao, said in a Facebook live press conference on Monday.
He said health workers at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) were already short on PPEs, as he underscored that there was no more crucial time than to have the protective equipment because of the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the region.
SPMC is, so far, the only hospital that can handle COVID-19 cases in Mindanao.
Ferrer said that the health workers’ much needed equipment were gloves, masks, goggles, disposable surgical gowns, cap and disposable shoe cover.
“PPEs can help ease their fear of being contaminated with the virus, as they are the one who will be facing the patients,” he said.
The DOH official also stressed his gratitude to those who have already donated some PPEs for the health workers. However, the health workers would need more because the PPEs may be only used once for 24 hours.
“These equipment are disposable, that is why we still are experiencing shortages of supplies,” he said.
“To those who can donate PPEs, we are accepting donations in our offices at DOH and City Health Office,” he said.
“We need to help our frontliners so that they can also help these COVID-19 patients,” he said.