CamSur establishes one hospital command center

By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

The Camarines Sur Provincial Command Center run by Provincial Incident Management Team (IMT) will act on referrals under the One Hospital Command Center (OHCC) System.

In a meeting held June 23 at the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex, officials of 25 private and public hospitals from Camarines Sur and Naga City attended and joined in the discussion how to operationalize the OHCC.

The surge of Covid-19 cases has not only brought anxiety to government hospitals experiencing the influx of patients and accommodation shortage but also exhaustion and frustration to the families of persons afflicted with Covid-19 who are at lost where to bring their patients, especially those exhibiting severe symptoms.

The OHCC system will facilitate the transport and pick-up arrangements of patients, determine what critical care services should be administered to them and provide health system capacity data analytics and risk communication.

Based on the agreement, all referrals within the province will be managed by the CamSur Provincial Command Center while the command center in Naga City will be managed by IMT-Naga and will act on referral in the city.

Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) Secretariat and Environment, Disaster Management and Emergency Response Office (EDMERO) chief Lucena Bermeo said that one of the things that were agreed upon was the establishment of several hotlines.

“We need to put up several hotlines where the patients can get in touch with the command center. While the referral system will be facilitated by the center, doctor’s referral will still be in effect and that will be respected,” Bermeo said.

As of press time, only the following hospitals agreed to be part of the OHCC: Bicol Medical Center (BMC), Bicol Region General Hospital and Geriatric Medical Center (BRGHGMC), all provincial LGU-managed hospitals, Tinambac Municipal Hospital, Tigaon Infirmary, Naga City Hospital, Sta. Maria Hospital, Lourdes Hospital, Mediatrix Hospital, and St. John Hospital in Naga and Goa.

Defined Contingencies of participating hospitals

The BMC and the BRGHGMC in Cabusao, Camarines Sur will be the referral hospital for those patients with moderate and severe symptoms and those in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Camarines Sur turned over 15 ventilators to BMC for its temporary use for patients under critical conditions.

All PLGU managed hospitals will become “step down” facilities once severe and critical patients recovered to mild status. This is one way to ensure that patients with severe and critical conditions can be accommodated by BMC and BRGHGMC.

In the worst case scenario, Ocampo District Hospital will be converted into a hospital that will cater to severe and critical cases and will be managed by the province but will be supported by specialists from BMC, though this is still subject to the approval of the Department of Health (DOH).

Four provincially-managed hospitals in Banasi, Calabanga, San Ramon, Iriga City, Bato, five other community colleges, and five evacuation centers will be opened as temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, while all asymptomatic patients will be handled by their respective LGUs and will be recommended for home quarantine under the strict monitoring of the municipal health office personnel.