BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order 28, allowing hospital supervised home isolation for Covid-19 patients, who are asymptomatic or experiencing mild or moderate symptoms.
Leonardia said only medical institutions may apply for accreditation through the Emergency Operations Center Task Force, presenting guidelines and procedures, costs and other necessary details for home-based patient care.
He said this should include provisions for adequate medical personnel to attend to daily patient monitoring, diagnostic procedures, medication, daily visits, or web-based consultation.
Leonardia also said the requisites for each accredited institution shall include immediate bed availability for home-based patient care in case of disease progression, including patient transport.
PHYSICIAN NEEDED
Under the EO, each patient admitted under the hospital-supervised home isolation shall be managed by, or assigned a physician, who shall monitor patient condition, assess, evaluate and/or discharge patient as appropriate.
It also said that hospitals shall create provisions for the management of infectious waste of patients while hospital-patient relationship shall apply in any detail arising after patient-admission in the program.
The coordination for approval of dwelling for admission/inclusion in the hospital-supervised home isolation program shall be made with the barangay council exercising jurisdiction over the patient’s address, and the DRRMO, that shall endorse approval to the EOC-TF, the mayor said.
Leonardia stressed that the possible patient abode/dwelling must satisfy the necessary checklist outlined in Annex F of Joint Administrative Order 2020-0001 of the Department of Health and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, as minimum requirement.
HOME ISOLATION
Meanwhile, the barangay shall be responsible for the sealing of the area where a Covid positive is allowed a hospital-supervised home isolation, Leonardia said, adding that home isolation shall only be allowed if patient is enrolled or admitted in the hospital-supervised home isolation program.
If the patient’s dwelling circumstances does not meet the conditions for home isolation, such services may be availed of in accredited hotels/pensions/inns but the costs relative to admission into the hospital-supervised home isolation shall be at the patient’s own expense.*
