NKTI reaches capacity for non-COVID-19 cases

MANILA, Philippines — The National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City has breached its capacity for non-COVID patients.

NKTI executive director Dr. Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete said yesterday most of their patients have kidney problems while COVID-19 cases are at a minimum.

“Nitong linggo kailangan namin mag-decongest. Naglipat kami ng mga pasyente sa ibang ospital,” she said in an interview on Teleradyo.

She said some of the patients were transferred to the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, also known as the Tala Hospital, in Caloocan City.

Rosete-Liquete said transferring patients to another hospital is not enough, which forced them to open the NKTI gymnasium to accommodate more people.

“Nagbukas na kami ng gym kasi sobra na sa three times na capacity namin last week,” she said.

She said the hospital’s emergency room, which has a capacity of 40 beds, is overwhelmed with patients.

Rosete-Liquete said they need at least 900 nurses to be fully functional, but the hospital has only around 750 nurses.

She urged nurses to apply with the NKTI, noting that entry level nurses could receive a basic salary of P35,000 per month on top of other benefits.

“Maganda naman po ang mga benefits natin dito sa gobyerno,” she said.