
The National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) announced that its Emergency Room (ER) already reached full capacity, urging patients to go to other health facilities for the time being.
In an advisory, the NKTI said that most of their patients being managed at their emergency area are those undergoing dialysis, afflicted with leptospirosis, and individuals with Covid-19.
The NKTI said it is also experiencing shortage of medical personnel, particularly of nurses.
"Dahil dito ay puno na rin ang aming Emergency Room (ER) na sa kasalukuyan ay umaabot na sa 3x ng aming kapasidad. Ito ay sa dahilang wala na ring bakanteng kuwarto sa mga wards (Because of this, our Emergency Room (ER) currently reaches three times our normal capacity. Also, there are no vacant rooms in our wards)," NKTI said in an advisory posted on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
"Pinapayuhan po namin ang publiko na magsadya muna sa pinakamalapit na ospital upang mabigyan ng kaagarang lunas ang inyong karamdaman (We advise the public to go to the nearest hospital in order to manage your medical condition immediately)," it added.
In a separate statement, the Department of Health (DOH) said that it is now in coordination with the NKTI management “to address the situation.”
The DOH said that Health Undersecretary Nestor Santiago “is in NKTI right now to assess the situation and ensure that all patients who will be going to NKTI will be effectively referred to nearby hospitals for appropriate management.”
“Rest assured that the DOH is on top of this and will make sure that all patients seeking care will be accommodated. We will be providing more updates as we receive them,” the DOH said.
The DOH advised the public to call the National Patient Navigation and Referral Center (previously known as One Hospital Command) “to secure accommodation and reduce waiting time.”
The public may call the National Patient Navigation and Referral Center at 0919-977-3333, 0917-878-7418, (02) 886-505-00, and 0915-777-7777.