Vice President Leni Robredo bemoaned the lack of available hospital beds for COVID-19 patients as her Bayanihan E-Konsulta team struggles to find vacant beds amid the surge of cases in the country, particularly in the National Capital Region Plus (NCR Plus) bubble.

Robredo has been manning the lines of her free medical teleconsult initiative “since the surge started.” She’s a regular in the evening duties, answering queries and coordinating with her medical and non-medical volunteers.

But despite needing to stay until the wee hours of the morning to attend to COVID-19 patients “all over the Metro,” the vice president said the hardest is to find a hospital that can still take in more people.

READ: Robredo takes E-Konsulta graveyard shift to handle COVID-19 calls

“Yung aming teams ay 24/7 walang pahinga sa dami ng pasyente. Pero yung pinakamahirap para sa amin, napakahirap maghanap ng ospital na may bakante. Namatayan na kami ng pasyente dahil sa tagal ng paghintay (Our teams are in 24/7 duty without rest because there are a lot of patients. But the hardest for us, it’s very difficult to find a hospital with vacancy. Our patient once died because of waiting for so long),” she shared.

“Ito yung kalagayan natin ngayon. Kaya mag iingat tayo (This is our status now. That’s why we have to take care),” Robredo added.

On Friday night, the vice president said they have a patient who needs to get in a hospital because of a low oxygen saturation level. Even with high-flow oxygen support, Robredo shared that it was still not enough.

She went so far as to reach out to a relative who happens to be a doctor. This relative, she said, has a friend who is a medical director of a hospital.

“Nagbakasakali lang. Binalikan niya agad ako. (Just taking my chances. He/She replied immediately). Same answer,” Robredo added.

READ: We’re definitely feeling the surge,’ Robredo says as COVID-19 cases rise in E-Konsulta

The vice president shared a screenshot of their conversation. According to Robredo’s relative, the medical director said their wards, cubicles in the emergency room, and the vans outside the emergency room area are filled with patients.

She did not say which hospital was this nor where it was located, though Bayanihan E-Konsulta operates only in the NCR Plus bubble, which includes the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan.

Robredo reminded the public not to be complacent even those who are already fully vaccinated. She herself is in quarantine after one of her office staff, whom she was a “very close contact,” tested positive for COVID-19.

“Magpalakas ng immune system. Kung may lumalabas na kasama natin sa bahay, mas mabuti mag mask tayo kahit nasa loob ng bahay. Huwag muna kumain ng magkakasabay. Iwasan muna lumabas kung hindi naman kailangan (Bolster your immune system. If someone from the household is going to go out, it’s better to wear a mask even if we are inside the house. Don’t eat together for now. Avoid going out if not needed),” she said.

On Friday, the Philippines recorded 17,447 new cases, the second-highest daily tally since the pandemic began.

The bed occupancy rate for the intensive care unit (ICU) in NCR and the whole country is at 75 percent, which is considered to be “high risk.”