Gov’t hospitals on alert this All Saints’ Day

MANILA, Philippines - Seventy-two government hospitals nationwide have been placed on Code White Alert to ensure immediate response to emergencies on All Saints’ Day.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said these hospitals must ensure the readiness  of their personnel - from general surgeon, orthopedics, anesthesiologists, internists, operating room nurses, ophthalmologists and otorhinolaryngologists - to respond to emergency situations.

“The DOH-Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) will be monitoring the situation 24 hours to respond to various health emergencies that may need immediate medical attention,” he said.

Ona said emergency service personnel, nurses and administrative staff residing in hospital dormitories must also be placed on an on-call status for immediate mobilization.

The hospitals must make sure that they have enough medical and surgical supplies, he added.

Ona has cautioned the public against buying food peddled in cemeteries as cases of food poisoning and diarrhea are usually contracted in these places.

They should bring their own food and water and avoid foods that can be easily spoiled, he added.

Babies and small children should not be brought to the cemetery because they are prone to acquire diseases and other infections, Ona said.

At least 7,000 policemen will secure the 78 cemeteries and their perimeters in Metro Manila on   All Saints’ Day.

Traffic enforcers from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will ease traffic congestion on all roads leading to the cemeteries.

Chief Superintendent Dennis Peña, Metro Manila police deputy chief for operations, has ordered the five police district directors to set up Police Assistance Desks (PADs) in all cemeteries, especially in the North, Chinese and La Loma cemeteries in Manila.

Parking lots will be provided near the cemeteries and guarded by policemen or barangay tanods, he added.

Peña said police will secure bus terminals, seaports, and airports, as well as the Metro Rail Transit and the Light Rail Transit.

“We will not only be securing cemeteries but also areas of convergence to prevent criminals from striking,” he said.

The National Capital Region Police Office will raid  known criminal lairs and intensify the serving of  arrest warrants before All Saints’ Day, Peña said.