Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said that hospitals are reaching critical capacity because even mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases are being brought there when they should be staying in isolation facilities instead.
"Iyan po iyong pinag-usapan namin with Department of Health -- na kailangan maging maayos iyong ating referral system,” (That is what we discussed with the Department of Health -- we should have an organized referral system,” Olivarez said during an interview with One News PH.
Olivarez explained that in Parañaque City, each barangay has its own medical officer who works with the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT).
The BHERT, according to Olivarez, is in charge of conducting contact-tracing in case there is a COVID-19 positive patient.
"Iyon pong positive po roon iyon po ay tinitingnan ng ating medical officer, so magkakaroon na siya ng initial assessment kung saan siya ilalagay -- sa isolation facility o didiretso siya sa hospital na mayroon kaming triage (The COVID-19 patient will be checked by the medical officer who will come up with an assessment -- if he or she should be put in the isolation facility or be brought to the hospital where we have a triage)," he said.
At the triage, there will be a thorough assessment to determine if a patient should be brought to a second-level hospital or to a tertiary hospital.
"So doon pa lang sa barangay ina-assess na sila (They are being assessed first in the barangay),” he said.
Barangay isolation units, Olivarez said, have also been put up to serve as holding areas before the patients are sent to city isolation units.
"Kapag asymptomatic at walang symptoms, puwede siya doon sa ating barangay isolation unit, pero kung symptomatic diretso po sa hospital (If the patient is asymptomatic, they can stay in the barangay isolation unit, but if they're symptomatic, they go directly to the hospital)," he said.
Olivarez also said they are facing a problem over those living in gated subdivision, who usually go directly to hospitals if they feel something unusual.