CRITICAL CARE. The ongoing construction of the Covid-19 critical care unit at the Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH) in Pototan, Iloilo. Once completed, the hospital would be able to accept severe and critical Covid-19 cases. (Photo from Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo FB page)
ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo provincial government is hiring medical doctors and nurses to further boost hospital capacity in its response against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In an interview, provincial administrator Lawyer Suzette Mamon on Friday said 30 nurses will be hired for deployment to the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) and as needed to the West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSU) and the Western Visayas Sanitarium (WVS).
They will be in addition to the 32 nurses whose contracts have already been extended until December this year.
She said the medical doctors will be for the province’s 13 district hospitals, wherein Covid-19 dedicated beds have been increased to a minimum of 50 percent up to 70 percent of their total capacity. However, she did not say how many doctors will be recruited.
“We open for additional doctors for 13 district hospitals and additional nurses because we have increased their capacity. We hire also for the TTMF (capacity temporary treatment and monitoring facility) because we are using that as a step-down and step-up or can be considered as extension hospital,” Mamon said.
The 160-bed capacity TTMF at the Iloilo Sports Complex will be for patients waiting to be admitted to tertiary hospitals, those who could not be accommodated yet by their local government units (LGUs) after being treated in hospitals or in the process of completing their medication.
The provincial administrator admitted the hiring is a bit slow because the additional human resources will be performing Covid-dedicated duties.
“The turn-around is slow but we are making best efforts,” she said.
Those who are interested to apply are advised to open the website of the province for them to check the requirements.
The provincial government is boosting the capability of its district hospitals, the Iloilo Provincial Hospital, and the TTMF to decongest tertiary hospitals for these focus on severe and critical cases.
A tertiary hospital offers a higher level of specialty care.
Critical care unit is also being established in Dr. Ricardo Y. Ladrido Memorial District Hospital in the municipality of Lambunao and at the Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH).
The critical care unit will capacitate these hospitals to be able to treat severe and critical cases.
Currently, the province has 493 Covid-19 patients admitted in hospitals; 214 are in the provincial and district hospitals of Iloilo, and 279 are in tertiary hospitals based in Iloilo City. (PNA)
