The Puerto Princesa City Incident Management Team (IMT) said it will conduct an investigation on the death of a COVID-19 patient in a city quarantine facility.
This came after some relatives of the deceased patient claimed that the she had received inadequate medical attention that led to the death.
The relatives claimed that the patient progressed from being asymptomatic to having severe chest pains, which were not sufficiently addressed in the quarantine facility. The patient was brought to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
“We are still waiting for the incident report on the matter. But rest assured, the IMT, sa pangunguna ni Dr. Dean Palanca, will look into the matter,” said Normalyn Dave of the City Information Office (CIO) in an interview on Monday.
Relatives of the patient stated that prior to her death, she experienced chest pains and was given oxygen. However, the chest pains did not go away, and two hours after manifesting symptoms, it was decided that she be brought to a nearby hospital. Upon her arrival, she had expired from COVID-19.
A press release on Sunday, June 13, initially cited the lack of hospital beds in the city because both public and private hospitals were fully occupied by city and municipal residents receiving treatment.
The statement maintained that even though quarantine facilities have been stocked with medical equipment, they were not meant to function as hospitals.
“Bilang isang quarantine facility ang mga pasilidad na pinagdadalhan sa mga nagpositibo sa COVID-19 ay nagsisilbi lamang na pansamantalang tuluyan ng mga ito upang mailayo o maihiwalay sila sa kanilang mga pamilya at sa komunidad upang maiwasan ang paglaganap o pagkalat pa ng COVID virus. Ang quarantine facility ay hindi ospital kung saan ay mayroong mga kagamitan upang matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng mga nag-positibong nangangailangan ng kalingang-medikal,” the CIO statement read.
