READINESS. Department of Health officials check the readiness of the Eastern Visayas Medical Center to treat firecracker-related injuries on Friday (Dec. 22, 2023). The activity is part of the "Iwas Paputok" campaign. (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here has checked the readiness of hospitals in Eastern Visayas to treat firecracker-related injuries.
On Friday, key DOH officials in the region inspected the Eastern Visayas Medical Center, the region’s largest hospital; Divine World Hospital; Mother of Mercy Hospital; Shalom Hospital; and Tacloban City Hospital, all in this city.
“Based on the initial monitoring, our hospitals are now ready to respond in line with our 'Iwas Paputok' campaign. If there are injuries, our hospitals are prepared to treat them," said DOH Eastern Visayas officer-in-charge Lilibeth Andrade.
During their monitoring, DOH personnel checked the preparedness of hospital staff in responding and providing medical attention to blast patients.
They also checked if hospitals have enough medicines, including first aid kits for “watusi” ingestion such as eggs and carbonated charcoal.
"Watusi," which is sold in the form of small sticks, contains toxic chemicals.
They also checked if hospitals allocated a bed in the emergency room for firecracker victims.
Just like in previous years, the health department is aiming to achieve zero cases of firecracker-related injuries.
Last year, Eastern Visayas logged six firecracker blast injuries, higher than the five cases reported in 2021. Most of the cases were posted from Leyte, Samar, and Northern Samar provinces.
As of posting time, no cases of firecracker-related injuries have reported.
DOH officials will make another inspection on December 28 ahead of the New Year's Eve celebration.
To prevent blast injuries, the DOH encouraged local government units to enact ordinances prohibiting the use of firecrackers. (PNA)
