NKTI to limit admission of COVID-19 patients as hospital reaches full capacity
MANILA, Philippines — The National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City is forced to limit admissions of coronavirus patients after the hospital reached its full capacity.
In an advisory Wednesday, NKTI executive director Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete reiterated the hospital can only accept kidney patients under investigation who are dependent on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
Those who have moderate to severe pneumonias, on the other hand, will be transferred to designated COVID-19 facilities.
NKTI said the admitted patients are managed in tents outside the main facilities until their COVID-19 test results come out as negative. The hospital has 75 beds in its COVID Field.
“We have already reached our full capacity despite expansion of our quarantine tent facility. Daily census average 76 PUIs and an average of 59 PUIs require hemodialysis treatment,” Liquete said.
“Despite our diligent efforts to accommodate all patients at our doorsteps, we are constrained to limit admissions. We are firm with our main objective of preventing the spread of the virus inside the hospital by exercising stringent measures to protect our immunocompromised patients and the health workers whose lives are also at stake during this crucial moment,” she added.
Last month, the overwhelmed private hospitals, where the bulk of Philippines’ hospital beds are located, appealed to the national government for help.
In response, key hospitals were designated for COVID-19 patients such as the Lung Center of the Philippines and the Philippine General Hospital but even these health facilities are already getting crowded.
The government is converting the Philippine International Convention Center and the World Trade Center in Pasay City and the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila into isolation facilities to relieve the pressure on overburdened hospitals.
The new coronavirus has so far infected 3,764 people in the Philippines—177 of whom have died.
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