Ambulances are supposed to be the vessel of safety to those in dire distress and emergency. Yet these vehicles are plagued with multiple misuses and protocol errors.
Still, a high number of drivers move patients to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) without proper advice or warning to the institution and lacking in regard to PGH status as a Covid-19 referral hospital.
Even more alarming are the statuses of those who are brought into the hospital. They are brought to an overcapacity building struggling to house 150 percent more than it should, according to its administration’s statistics. Patients and their families from great distances choose PGH even if there are qualified medical facilities near them.
Currently, PGH stands as the most famous of all public hospitals in the country, proud of its renowned experts and complete facilities. Throngs of patients, most of which arrive in critical condition, are wheeled in daily. They have to be accommodated even if the institution is overbooked or crowded.
It is a usual scene that ambulances arrive anytime without notice or advance coordination. Administrative Order 2010-0003 mandates that ambulance personnel must coordinate the transfer of patients with hospital staff before their arrival.
Since March 2020, PGH has been designated a Covid-19 referral hospital. Although the virus has dissipated, this has not been lifted. This calls for the pandemic protocol that non-Covid patients should only be sent to the premises upon a last-resort referral from a medical personnel.
Since the PGH abides by the Philippine Anti-Hospital Deposit Law, the hospital is legally obligated to attend to all patients, especially emergency cases, until their situation is stabilized. This overburdens medical staff that could degrade their quality of service.
Many ambulance vehicles are not even at par with DOH guidelines. They may be bringing in emergency cases but the required presence of two medical staff is, more often than not, lacking. Not to mention proper medical emergency equipment that are all ready-to-operate.
Sirens and bells are almost always missing to help them get past traffic during emergency situations. Those on the road should also be educated when emergency vehicles -- like ambulances and fire trucks -- approach. They should slow down and stop to give way.
Remember, one single mistake could be a fatal one.