The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started building another set of "pop-up" hospitals at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) in Quezon City, the agency said in a statement Sunday, April 25.
DPWH secretary and isolation czar Mark A. Villar said that the modular health facilities being built are part of the government's efforts to expand the capacity of major hospitals to accommodate more people infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
According to Villar, five units of modular hospitals will be put up by the DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local and National Health Facilities headed by Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain within LCP.
Sadain said that the layout of three out of the five proposed modular hospitals were already established as of Saturday, April 24. The additional treatment facilities will take in moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 patients.
As per the design and build plan agreed upon between DPWH and LCP, the modular hospitals will consist of four "typical" units with an accumulated capacity of 88 beds, and one intensive care unit (ICU)- type modular hospital with 22 beds. This means that LCP will an additional bed capacity of 110.
DPWH had ealier built modular facilities at LCP composed of eight fully airconditioned rooms with two hospital beds per room to accommodate 16 moderate, severe, and critical COVID cases; and 16 rooms with double-decker beds as temporary shelter of health professionals taking care of patients.
Modular hospitals take only 45 days to complete, Villar has said.