HEALTH Secretary Enrique T. Ona today ordered the Department of Health (DOH) regional health offices and hospitals to be on Code White alert to continuously monitor events in their respective areas for the country’s elections on Monday, May 13.
“In anticipation of any eventualities that may occur during the 2013 National Elections the Code White Alert is raised in all DOH regional offices and hospitals effective May 12, Sunday,” Ona said in a statement from DOH.
The health chief added that regional directors of these health facilities are encouraged to be vigilant and to send flash reports of any incident that needs to be reported to the DOH-Health Emergency Management Staff’s Operations Center (OpCen) at telephone numbers 711-1001 and 711-1002.
Ona said the DOH-HEMS OpCen will do active monitoring of all health emergencies nationwide and shall coordinate with other key agencies responding to this kind of situation. Also, they are ready to provide material and logistical support to the regional health offices and hospitals which may need them.
Code White Alert is adopted for national events, such as the 2013 National Elections, with potential for mass casualty incidents. It also means that a hospital’s emergency medicines, especially trauma, are fully stocked and made available at the emergency room.
Under the Code White Alert, medicines and supplies in the operating rooms should likewise be reviewed and increased to meet sudden requirements, and other needs such as X-ray plates, laboratory requirements, and others should be made available and not required to be purchased by victims. Regional offices are empowered to be prepared to assist in any evacuation of the population in their areas. (DOH)
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