Hiring more than 2,800 health workers still needed in COVID-19 response — Nograles

MANILA, Philippines — The government still needs to employ over 2,800 health workers to help in the fight against COVID-19, COVID-19, Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Diseases co-chairperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Wednesday.

“Meron kasing (There are) 9,365 health worker positions targeted for deployment in 339 health facilities. We’ve been able to fill out 6,510 of those positions or 69.51 percent na po,” Nograles said in an online forum.

“Currently, we’re still recruiting more health workers dito sa (here for) deployment — targeted for deployment,” he added.

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) said it observed a “plateau” in the emergency hiring of healthcare workers as it saw fewer applicants in the past weeks.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to increase, DOH said it is tapping health workers from other regions to serve as a “substitution team” for those working in Metro Manila.

Medical frontliners recently appealed for a “time out” and revert Mega Manila to stricter quarantine as they requested a response to hospital workforce efficiency, workplace safety, among others.

President Rodrigo Duterte heeded their call and placed Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal under modified enhanced community quarantine until August 18.

“Ang maganda pong nangyari, dahil nga po dito sa pakikinig ni Pangulo sa damdamin at saloobin ng ating health workers, nagkaroon na rin po ng working group ang Department of Health at yung iba’t ibang medical societies,” Nograles said.

(The good thing that happened after the President heeded the health workers’ plea was that a working group was created for the Department of Health and various medical societies.)

“So mas nagkaroon tayo ng mekanismo na magkaroon ng avenue ang medical societies para ipahiwatig sa DOH at maging sa IATF at kay Pangulong Duterte ang iba’t ibang recommendations nila,” he went on.

(There will be a mechanism, an avenue where medical societies can express their recommendations to the DOH, IATF, and even to President Duterte.)

JE