Vice President Leni Robredo.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has paid tribute to volunteers of telemedicine channel Bayanihan E-Konsulta for playing a big part in the success of the program spearheaded by her office.
The Bayanihan E-Konsulta project is wrapping up Tuesday, after assisting more than 58,000 COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.
In a tweet, Robredo disclosed that a total of 947 doctors and 1,761 call and chat agents helped the Office of the Vice President (OVP) during the entire run of the Bayanihan E-Konsulta.
“Huling araw ngayon ng ating Bayanihan E-Konsulta initiative. Since we launched the program in April 2021, we have assisted more than 58,000 cases—both COVID and non-COVID patients,” she said.
“This was made possible by volunteers, including 947 doctors and 1,761 call/chat agents,” she added.
Huling araw ngayon ng ating Bayanihan E-Konsulta initiative.
Since we launched the program in April 2021, we have assisted more than 58,000 cases—both COVID and non-COVID patients. This was made possible by volunteers, including 947 doctors and 1,761 call/chat agents. pic.twitter.com/RL3caxC2HS
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) May 31, 2022
The outgoing Vice President also said it is an honor to help people during the COVID-19 surges where the online consultation channels were used heavily.
“Lubos ang aking pasasalamat sa lahat ng nakasama natin: sa ating volunteer doctors, call/chat agents, EMS teams, and to my OVP family,” Robredo said.
“At sa lahat ng mga kababayan na ating natulungan sa Bayanihan E-Konsulta, malaking karangalan po para sa amin na kayo ay mapaglingkuran,” she added.
Last May 23, OVP announced that Bayanihan E-Konsulta will end its operations on May 31 in order to make way for transition preparations as a new Vice President is set to be installed.
Aside from the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, the OVP said some of their other programs like the provision of medical aid and burial assistance will also be suspended starting June 1 for the same reason.
READ: OVP to suspend extending medical, burial assistance starting June 1
The Bayanihan E-Konsulta was a program where healthcare professionals would attend to concerns from possible COVID-19 patients remotely, or through messaging apps or phone calls. With the platform, several individuals were able to skip hospitalization as doctors performed triaging, or the segregation of mild and severe cases.
READ: OVP’s ‘E-Konsulta’ allow for safe, convenient medical queries, hospital search
Medical kits that included a number of medicines and important health gadgets like oximeters and thermometers were also given out to people who tested positive for COVID-19. Patients were also regularly monitored by chat agents helping the OVP.
Robredo previously said that when they launched the program in April 2021 – during the time when the country was facing a COVID-19 surge – they were only thinking of filling the gaps of the national government. They did not expect it to be one of the country’s primary telemedicine channels.
READ: Robredo calls for more volunteer doctors, other personnel for Bayanihan E-Konsulta
During the surge in January caused by the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the telemedicine channels also encountered a high demand with the quota of 400 consultations per day being filled up in just a matter of minutes after opening slots.