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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Metro Manila devider Car used as COVID-19 ward goes viral amid continued congestion of hospitals

Car used as COVID-19 ward goes viral amid continued congestion of hospitals

Published Apr 5, 2021 08:35 pm

With hospitals in NCR Plus being congested due to the surging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, medical frontliners have no choice but to find creative ways to help patients in need of assistance.

(Photo from Dr. Jamie Ysabel Amposta / Facebook)

A photo of a car with an oxygen tank and intravenous (IV) fluids outside a Cavite hospital shows just how hard medical workers are trying to accommodate patients coming in for help.

"I never thought something like this can happen in my lifetime. I know this is not ideal at all but this is the best we can do for our ailing patients," emergency room doctor Jamie Ysabel Amposta wrote in the caption of the photo posted on Sunday (April 4).

"Even IV stands ubos na, that very IV stand ako pa gumawa niyan with medical tapes just so we can bring it outside (Even IV stands are all being used, that very IV stand, I just fixed it with medical tapes so we can bring it outside)," Amposta added.

Amposta's colleague, on-call anesthesiologist Twinkle Santos, also reposted the photo captioned with a story about a harrowing experience.  

"At 5:30 a.m., I got a call for a difficult intubation of a COVID patient at a hospital in the South. IDS (Infectious Disease Specialist) fellow was distraught. She was having a hard time intubating the 220-lb patient," Santos wrote. "CPR ongoing. I said over the phone, 'By the time I get there the patient might have expired already. Please calm down. Change the position since patient is obese, etc.'"

"Then she said, 'Doc paano if hindi ko magawa? Father po ito ng doctor!' (Then she said, 'Doc, what if I can't do it? This is a father of a doctor!')," she added. "I can say, today, I am afraid."

Speaking to Manila Bulletin, Santos said they want to make people aware of the current situation of the healthcare system.

"We are not just overworked but our facilities are also overburdened," Santos told Manila Bulletin. "I hope the photo will convince people who do not believe COVID19 is real that this is our reality now. We can only overcome this situation if we work together by believing in science and disciplining ourselves."

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