Gordon seeks probe into ‘state of PH’s health,’ capacity to fight COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon on Monday called on the Senate to look into the “state of the health of the nation” and it’s capability to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Gordon called for the Senate committee of the whole inquiry through Senate Resolution No. 483, which was adopted by the upper chamber during its plenary session.

“The health care system of the Philippines has been dangerously stretched to its limit,” Gordon said in his resolution, citing the deflating capacity of hospitals to take in more COVID-19 patients.

“Due to the onslaught of COVID-19 on our health care system, a number of hospitals were forced to suspend their admissions of COVID-19 patients because of full capacity or because of a bigger number of its hospital staff contracting COVID-19,” he added.

The senator also noted the “exhaustion and infection, if not deaths” of health care workers in the line of duty.

As of August 1, there had been 5,008 health care workers who tested positive for COVID-19, two of which are severe, according to Gordon.

Meanwhile, 38 medical frontliners have died while 4,576 recovered, he added.

“Our doctors and other healthcare workers have become extremely burnt out, fearful, stressed out, and anxious and many of them stopped reporting for work,” the lawmaker, who also serves as chair of the Philippine Red Cross, said.

Gordon added that the current status of the country’s healthcare system has been “severely challenged and obviously impaired” and urgently needs modernization.

“We already have an insufficient number of doctors and healthcare workers to fight the pandemic, as many of them have already left the country to work abroad,” his resolution read.

“Verily, we must strengthen the ranks of our healthcare workers who have heroically stayed behind to fight. Because any lessening of their numbers will result in more deaths and a devastating diminution of our economy,” it added.

According to Gordon, the Senate is behooved to listen to the plight of the country’s healthcare frontliners and to “find out what is wrong so we can alleviate their burden.”

He also underscored the need for the government to reassess its response to the pandemic and for appropriate agencies to submit a report on the implementation of the COVID-19 testing in the country as well as “a master plan and an intelligible road map describing the role of all the parties to ensure our victory over the pandemic.”

The lawmaker filed the resolution following the plea of the medical community for a reimposition of a strict lockdown in Metro Manila to give them time to recuperate from exhaustion due to the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases nationwide, which had already breached the 100,000 mark.

EDV