Additional health care facilities at National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be turnover to the Department of Health (DOH) by middle of September 2021.
DPWH Secretary and Isolation Czar Mark A. Villar said that the shipping containers repurposed into quarantine/isolation facility for mild and asymptomatic cases at NCMH compound will enable our medical professionals to deal with escalating numbers of Covid-19 infected persons in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The newly-build isolation facilities to accommodate more mild cases will effectively free up hospital beds which in the past days saw record high of new and active cases in moderate, critical or severe cases needing medical care, added Secretary Villar.
In his report to Secretary Villar, Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said that 40 units of standard 20 feet by 8 feet (6 meters by 2.4 meters) shipping container were repurposed by DPWH National Capital Region (NCR) – Metro Manila First District Engineering Office into temporary treatment and monitoring facility with 80 beds by dividing each container unit into two (2) isolation room equipped with airconditioning system and toilet and bath on each room to effectively isolate and treat infectious individuals with the consideration of patients’ convenience.
The isolation facility can also function as a step-down facility for Covid-19 patients who have mild to moderate symptoms but recovering from the virus and do not need consistent and immediate medical attention, added Undersecretary Sadain, head of DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local/National Health Facility.
Using additional five (5) shipping containers, the isolation facility also have separate rooms for hospital workers, doctor/nurse station monitoring the condition of patients, laboratory room, and electrical room.
Other than the isolation facility, DPWH is also close to completing two (2) cluster units of off-site dormitories for medical frontliners each with 24 fully airconditioned rooms and double decker beds with toilet and bath to accomodate 96 people.
The modular dormitories that will be also turnover by mid September for use of health workers manning the hospital operation features spacious airconditioned hallway, and living, dining, kitchen and laundry areas.
In preparation for the turnover, Undersecretary Sadain together with NCR Director Eric Ayapana, Bureau of Construction Director Aristarco Doroy, Metro Manila First District Engineer Medel Chua, and NCMH Hospital Operations and Patient Service Engr. Evelyn Purino inspected these projects on Monday, September 6, 2021 for fine tuning of works before transferring them to hospital management.
To meet the current health challenges, the Department is also setting up additional six (6) modular hospital units each with 22 rooms for a total capacity of 132 beds in a site also developed by DPWH within NCMH compound.
With the use of prefabricated components and offsite approaches in the construction of “pop-up” or modular hospitals to deliver efficient buildings for containing COVID-19 rapidly, the partial turnover of some units are targetted towards end of September.
In respond to the need to expand healthcare capacity, the DPWH thru the Task Force has delivered the completion of 758 healthcare facilities with a total capacity of 28,102 are operational nationwide.
Completed were 685 quarantine/isolation facilities with 26,329 beds, 22 modular hospitals with 453 beds, and 51 off-site dormitories with 1,320 beds.
https://www.facebook.com/500569120056578/posts/4270930846353701/?d=n
