Senator Nancy Binay on Monday, April 5, urged the Duterte government to heed the suggestion of the country’s physicians to convert select hotels into temporary hospital facilities to accommodate COVID-19 positive patients.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Binay said she considers the proposal as practical given the projected increases and the recent surge in COVID-19 cases that have already weakened the entire healthcare system and caused many hospitals in Metro Manila to reach full capacity.
“I fully support the recommendation of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) to convert select hotels into temporary hospital facilities for mild to moderate COVID positive patients,” Binay said in a statement.
“Our health workers already feel overwhelmed and many facilities are already overly packed with people seeking immediate medical care,” she stressed.
“The move to tap hotels will help lessen the burden on health workers, and hospitals that are currently admitting severe cases,” added the senator.
Binay said that while such undertaking would require sacrifice on the part of the private sector, she believes the hotel industry is very much willing to help and is well-equipped to respond to the challenge.
“They are in a unique position to help and complement our hospitals and local quarantine centers to support our healthcare system. They have the backbone in providing viable solutions to quarantine challenges at this very critical time,” she said.
“I am one with the PCP in urging the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) to study this proposal at the soonest,” the lawmaker reiterated.
In an interview on CNN Philippines, PCP Vice President Dr. Maricar Limpin disclosed that the group already wrote to President Duterte recommending to transform some hotels into health facilities.
Limpin said the healthcare workers that would come from outside of Metro Manila can serve in these health facilities.
The converted hospital facility, however, will only admit mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 to lessen the number of patients that would have to go to hospitals, she said.