DOH: It will take 12 years for PH to solve shortage of nurses, 23 years for doctors

FILE PHOTO: One in 20 nurses in the United States is a Filipino, following decades of migration of nurses from the Philippines, which is now lacking 127,000 nurses, to American soil. Here, a new batch of future nurses from Centro Escolar University are at the World Trade Center in Pasay City for their capping and pinning rites, on September 30, 2022. INQUIRER/ RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will only be able to fill the gap in nurses and doctors shortage after around 12 and 23 years, respectively, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.

During the hearing of the House committee on appropriations regarding the implementation of the agency’s programs, DOH officer-in-charge and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire revealed that the country needs around 114,000 physicians and 127,000 nurses to be able to provide optimal healthcare.

Vergeire was responding to Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, who asked about the number of nurses and physicians required so the country can provide high-standard medical management.

“We have a total demand of 189,548 for physicians, and the gap would be 114,000. For nurses, we have a demand of 300,708, and we have a variance or a gap of 127,000,” she told the panel.

READ: Why are there so many Filipino nurses in the US?

Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, then asked how many doctors and nurses the Philippines produce annually – which eventually led to the conclusion that 12 years would be needed to solve the lack of nurses, and 23 years for doctors.

“Annually, ilan ang ating bagong doktor at bagong nurse (how many are our new doctors and new nurses)?” the lawmaker asked.

“Annually, we have a total of 4,378 per year for physicians. For nurses, we produce around 10,635 on average per year,” the DOH official replied.

READ: Hospitals: Where have all the nurses gone?

“So if we would just straight-line that, we will need how many years to fill up our gap?” Quimbo further asked.

“(It would be) 12 years for the nurses and 23 years for doctors,” Vergeire answered.

Although the country is touted as one of the top suppliers of nurses and other medical practitioners abroad, the Philippines has been suffering from a shortage of nurses. This dire situation was all the more highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic when many health workers contracted the virus that consequently affected the provision of adequate health care to the public.

READ: ‘Suicide mission’: Cutting short isolation of health workers with COVID

In October 2022, it was observed that several nurses in the newly-established Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga province, have ironically become OFWs themselves in pursuit of higher-paying jobs.

READ: Nurses for OFW Hospital end up becoming OFWs

Days after, Filipino nurses have lamented that they are not given the reason to stay in the country and that better opportunities await those who go abroad.

READ: Nurses’ lament: ‘Gov’t not giving us reasons to stay’

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