OVERFLOWING. Patients stay in tents outside the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) in Dumaguete City on Wednesday (Aug. 22, 2024). Health authorities are scrambling to find ways to accommodate as many patients beyond the NOPH’s 250-bed carrying capacity. (Photo courtesy of Hermes Pilonggo)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The provincial government is finding ways to accommodate all patients at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) in this capital city after a surge in the number of patients, many of whom feared they contracted dengue.
Dr. Liland Estacion, Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) chief, said in an interview with reporters Thursday that the Department of Health-accredited number of beds at NOPH is just 250.
“But we currently have some 600 patients at the NOPH and about 80 additional in the emergency room," Estacion said.
She added that patients with dengue symptoms seek early consultation and even want immediate hospital admission but some come from nearby provinces like Siquijor for treatment of other diseases.
Estacion said the surge was noted early this week although it is a “perennial problem” for NOPH to accommodate as many people as possible despite limited beds as they could not turn away patients, as mandated by the law.
One approach to decongesting the NOPH, she said, is to review the referral system from the different district hospitals and community primary hospitals in the towns and cities.
During a meeting with hospital heads on Wednesday, Estacion said patients in rural areas must first go through consultation and diagnosis at the nearest health center, which would refer them to NOPH if necessary.
Cases with mild symptoms have to be treated at primary health care facilities to avoid overcrowding the provincial hospital, Estacion said. (PNA)
