The Taguig-Pateros District Hospital (TPDH) located in Western Bicutan, Taguig has apologized to the public over the long line of patients waiting to be attended to by the medical staff.

The hospital congestion is reportedly due to patients showing symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). There are also doctors, nurses and other hospital staff who have tested positive for the disease or were quarantined because of symptoms. 

“Bagamat nagdagdag po ng mga kuwarto at pasilidad ang ospital upang makatugon nang mahusay sa pandemya, sadya pong mahirap ibalik ang antas ng serbisyo sa dati nitong kapasidad (Despite the additional rooms and hospital facilities to better address the pandemic, it is difficult to bring back the quality of service to pre-COVID days),” the hospital said in a statement.  The  congestion, TPDH said is also happening in many hospitals in Metro Manila. 

The hospital urged the public to avail of telemedicine service at health centers instead of going to the hospital if they are experiencing symptoms like fever, cold, cough, sore throat, body aches, diarrhea or loss of smell or taste. 

The medical facility advised the public to only go to TPDH if they experience severe symptoms like trouble in breathing, chest pain, or unable to talk or to move their body. 

“Kailangan po nating limitahan pansamantala ang serbisyo ng ating ospital para sa mga malubhang kaso lamang, nang sa gayon ay makayanan ng ating serbisyong medikal ang hindi pangkaraniwang sitwasyon ng pandemya (We need to temporarily limit service of the hospital to severe cases only in order for our medical service to cope with the extraordinary situation brought by the pandemic),” the hospital added. 

As of July 29, the Taguig City government has recorded 37 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total to 2,078 cases with 1,774 recoveries and 33 deaths.