Hospitals operated and managed by the Department of Health (DOH) could withstand a powerful earthquake based on the conduct of structural assessments and retrofitting of hospitals, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said on Tuesday.
Herbosa made the assurance after a series of powerful earthquakes rocked several parts of the country in recent days.
‘Yes, we did the safe hospital project. We did a structural engineering assessment together with the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines,’ Herbosa said in Filipino when asked if the hospitals could survive a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
Herbosa shared that some hospitals needed to undergo retrofitting after they were found to have problems with their structures.
Herbosa emphasized that this was done to ensure that the hospitals are resilient.
‘A hospital building needs to be more resilient compared to ordinary stores or structures because we need to keep saving lives so it has higher requirements,’ he pointed out.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology earlier warned that the ‘Big One,’ or a magnitude 7.2 earthquake along the West Valley Fault, could kill more than 33,000 people and cause 168,000 buildings to collapse.
The DOH, citing figures from the National Harmonized Contingency Plan, noted that the death toll from the major earthquake might reach over 52,000 across Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon).
It added that this could also result in 679,000 injuries, and over 5.3 million Filipinos displaced from their homes.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the magnitude 7.4 and 6.8 tremors, tagged as the ‘doublet earthquake’ that struck off Manay, Davao Oriental last Friday affected over 845,000 individuals and left eight people dead.
Healthcare workers’ welfare
What are the contingency plans for the healthcare workers who will be at the frontlines in case a strong earthquake occurs?
Herbosa emphasized the importance of making sure that their wellbeing is being taken care of and that their families are safe.
‘Once your family is secure, you can work 100% in the hospital. If you’re here in the hospital and you’re thinking of what happened [to] your family, medyo may problema (there may be a problem),’ Herbosa added.
He also said that they have observed behavior of many healthcare workers that show mental health concerns. He cited restlessness and development of illnesses.
He stressed that rest periods must be mandatory in hospitals, adding that peer support is important in ensuring that they can perform well. /gsg