A senior citizen with COVID-19 died right outside the emergency room of a hospital in Metro Manila while waiting to be admitted.
According to a netizen who identified himself as Angelo B. on Twitter, his father died amid the search for a hospital that would accept him.
He said his father tested positive for COVID-19 on March 16.
“We isolated him at home and got a doctor to monitor his vitals through text and prescribed medicine,” said Angelo on Twitter.
He added that his father had difficulty breathing on the night of March 27. They allegedly called an ambulance, but the charge ranged from P16,000 to P20,000. So they allegedly just looked for a friend’s vehicle.
They rushed his father to a nearby hospital, and they also called another hospital. They also called One Hospital Command but said there was no available slot for his father.
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Senior citizen with COVID-19 dies outside hospital while waiting to be admitted
He said, all the hospitals they called, even ERs and even its waitlist have been filled.
He added that not a single hospital has been able to refill the oxygen tank they use because other patients also need oxygen.
At two o’clock in the morning, they decided to take care of their father at home.
But, by three o’clock in the morning, his father had stopped breathing.
“I begged them kasi sobrang critical na ang tatay ko. They agreed to put me in waiting pero they let us know na rin na mayroon dalawa pang pasyente that’s waiting to get into the ICU as well,” Angelo said in an interview with Raffy Tima on GMA News’ Unang Balita this Wednesday.
His father died around 5:20 a.m. on March 28, while waiting on a stretcher.
“They used the defibrillator and everything. he was next to the door of the ER, a few minutes away from being able to enter the ICU. my brother was wailing and crying outside with my mother in shock and unresponsive next to him. my dad died in the cold,” said Angelo.