230 health workers at St. Luke’s in QC have resigned since January — union

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MANILA, Philippines — Some 230 healthcare workers at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City have resigned since January, the president of the hospital employees’ association said Thursday.

“Two hundred thirty. St. Luke’s QC pa lang po ‘yan (That’s just for St. Luke’s QC),” Roldan Clumia, President of St. Luke’s Medical Center Employees Association, told CNN Philippines’ The Source when asked about the number of health workers who have resigned at SLMC.

He said that the majority of health workers who have resigned are nurses.

“Sobrang dami. Hindi natin kaya pigilan ang nurses na magreresign kahit pa tulong tulong kami na makipag-usap sa kanila,” he added, noting the challenges in hospital duty amid the pandemic and better compensation abroad.

(There were a lot of them. We could not prevent nurses from resigning even if we talk with them.)

According to Clumia, health workers at the hospital have yet to receive their meal, accommodation, and transportation (MAT) allowances that were promised by the Department of Health (DOH).

“‘Yung SRA (special risk allowance) sa direct contacts [ng COVID patients], nakatanggap ‘yung mga nakaduty sa hot zone, pero sa MAT po lahat po ay wala,” he said.

(Health workers who are direct contacts of COVID patients have received their SRA but no one has received MAT.)

“Pinagod lang nila ‘yung management namin. Pinagsubmit nila ng requirements pero hanggang sa ngayon wala pong dumating,” he lamented.

(They just tired our management. They told them to submit requirements but up to now, nothing has been delivered.)

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that an additional budget for MAT has been requested already from the Department of Budget and Management.

“As far as I know, we are just completing the list [of healthcare workers]. We have been able to download most of the funds to our regional offices to provide to all of the facilities within their jurisdiction. We just need to complete the list kasi may mga additional pang binibigay ang mga hospital sa ngayon (because hospitals are still submitting additional names),” said Vergeire.

“There are a lot of incomplete requirements that we need to return in to facilities so that they can be completed, and there are still facilities submitting additional lists of employees,” she noted.

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