IATF orders increase in health care facilities as COVID-19 cases rise
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) ordered an increase in the capacity of health care facilities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its nearby provinces, Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said Sunday.
Nograles said this was the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Sub-Technical Working Group (sTWG) on Data Analytics to the National Task Force (NTF) health facilities sub-cluster as hospital care utilization rate increases due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Nograles said the recommendation which was approved for implementation includes the "increase in the availability of bed capacity in the National Capital Region and surrounding areas (NCR Plus Areas)".
In the Department of Health (DOH) case bulletin on Sunday, ward bed utilization was at 65 percent, ICU bed use 52 percent and isolation beds 50 percent.
He said the IATF also directed the NTF to "coordinate with the relevant stakeholders to integrate monitoring of the capacity of Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) in its measurement of health systems capacity; ensure that patients needing care are promptly and appropriately referred; and reassess the capacity of TTMFs, increase TTMF capacity where needed, and remove any referral quotas from hospitals."
"The DOH Field Implementation and Coordination Team (FICT) and the NTF Health Facilities Sub-Cluster, on the other hand, have been instructed to immediately communicate with NCR hospitals to determine how the COVID-19 bed capacity is being allocated. Moreover, the NTF Health Facilities Sub-Cluster, together with the DOH Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service, has been instructed to increase the capacity of telehealth and telemedicine outside NCR," said Nograles.
"The IATF sTWG on Data Analytics has also recommended that the One Hospital Command Center ensure as close to real-time updating of health systems capacity as possible based on functional bed capacity to take into consideration the level of available health care workers," he added.
Nograles said the IATF's TWG on Data Analytics also "tasked the community response cluster and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to ensure that emergency operations centers with functional triage areas are in place in all local government units."
"These shall oversee patient navigation so that only those needing hospitalization are brought to the health facilities. They are also directed to ensure that those undergoing home isolation or quarantine are monitored by Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams and that access to testing, treatment, and facility referral be made available, especially the elderly, those with comorbidities, or those belonging to vulnerable sectors," he said.
"They have likewise been directed to intensify active case finding in the NCR Plus areas and to intensify active case finding and contact tracing strictly up to the 3rd generation in all areas under Alert Level 2," he added.
Nograles also added that the IATF sTWG on Data Analytics has recommended the COVID-19 Laboratory Network to increase RT-PCR testing capacity in NCR Plus areas to handle the influx of tests by ensuring that laboratories are operational seven days a week; to prioritize A2 and A3 populations for testing; to fast-track applications for Licenses to Operate for new RT-PCR laboratories; and to promptly provide commodities for swabbing and testing.
"The National Vaccination Operations Center is directed to increase vaccination rates outside NCR as soon as possible," he added.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to increase, Nograles said ''the government encourages all who become symptomatic to immediately isolate themselves to help control the transmission."
"Home isolation is recommended for those with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19. But local government units should be able to provide services such as telemedicine and immediate referral so that those requiring additional management may be assessed and treated appropriately," he said. Robina Asido/DMS
