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San Lazaro Hospital faces shortage in manpower, medicine as leptospirosis cases surge

Article (news)

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Leptospirosis cases at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila rose to 57 on Saturday, after it admitted 23 more patients overnight from across Metro Manila and from nearby provinces.</p><p>The hospital said that while it still has not reached the 65-bed capacity in its leptospirosis wards, it is running out of medical staff to run them.</p><p>“Yung nurses po namin kulang din. Although nagpu-pullout po kami from other departments, from other wards pero kulang pa rin,” said Dr. Princess Petallana, a fellow at the hospital’s Adult Infectious Diseases unit.</p><p>(We don’t have enough nurses. We have been pulling out staff from other departments but there aren’t enough people)</p><p>Medicine is also in short supply.</p><p>In case more severe patients would need to undergo dialysis, Petallana said that would also be a problem.</p><p>The hospital only has four hemodialysis machines and only three nurses who can operate them.</p><p>The Department of Health (DOH) said that it is ready to send additional equipment, health workers, and medicine to struggling medical facilities.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2024/8/8/67-leptospirosis-cases-recorded-in-second-half-of-july-dengue-cases-on-uptrend-doh-1123">READ: 67 leptospirosis cases recorded in second half of July; dengue cases ‘on uptrend’ — DOH</a></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">But it noted that patients don’t need to flock to hospitals like San Lazaro and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, which is also getting overwhelmed with leptospirosis cases, as there are a lot of other hospitals that may also cater to them.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Ang leptospirosis, hindi lamang sa NKTI ginagamot. Lahat po ng ospital, kayang mag-dialysis. Lahat po ng ospital, kayang gumamot ng leptospirosis,” said DOH Spokesperson, Dr. Albert Domingo.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(NKTI is not the only hospital that treats leptospirosis. All hospitals can perform dialysis and can treat leptospirosis)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“May mga kama, may mga nurse at doktor na available sa Metro Manila. Mahalaga lamang na tumawag muna sa telephone number 8531-0037 bago dalhin ang pasyenteng may leptospirosis para alam natin kung saan may bakanteng kama na available,” added Domingo.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">The DOH has also released a memorandum directing all hospitals in the National Capital Region to activate their Leptospirosis Surge Capacity Plan in preparation for a possibly bigger surge in cases as the rainy season persists.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the bacteria Leptospira which is found in the urine of rats and other infected animals</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">It is usually contracted by wading through floods or contaminated bodies of water while having an open wound.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LoMn4wa6USA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The hospital said that while it still has not reached the 65-bed capacity in its leptospirosis wards, it is running out of medical staff to run them.</p>

The hospital said that while it still has not reached the 65-bed capacity in its leptospirosis wards, it is running out of medical staff to run them.