A GROUP of healthcare workers slammed anew the reappointment of Dr. Ted Herbosa as interim secretary of the Department of Health (DOH), saying it could “significantly contribute” to the downtrend of trust rating of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In an interview, Alliance of Healthcare Workers president Robert Mendoza said most, if not all of the healthcare workers in the country, are opposing the designation of Herbosa, who was reappointed by Marcos two days after his appointment was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) last week due to lack of material time.
Since Herbosa took office in June 2023, Mendoza said he is still unable to address the concerns of the healthcare workers, particularly the understaffing in hospitals and the exodus of healthcare workers going abroad due to higher pay.
He said many healthcare workers in the country were complaining of being “underpaid but overworked” due to shortage of staff.
“Hindi pa rin kami bumabalik doon sa ideal na eight hours na duty kasi hanggang ngayon 12 hours duty pa rin kami,” said Mendoza.
(We still haven't returned to the ideal eight hours duty because until now, we are still on 12 hours duty.)
Mendoza said that while Herbosa’s proposal of hiring nursing graduates who have yet to pass the board exams to address the shortage will be of help, it will still not address the understaffing in hospitals as they will not be able to cover the work being done by nurses due to lack of authority.
Herbosa earlier said that the country may no longer have nurses after three to five years if the government will not do something to make them stay and work here instead of going abroad due to higher salaries.
He then floated the idea of granting a “temporary license” to nursing graduates who have yet to pass the board exam.
Mendoza said many of the healthcare workers are also still unable to receive their benefits and allowances for rendering service during the Covid-19 pandemic despite that the public health emergency has already been lifted in the country.
Mendoza also cited Herbosa’s “failure” to defend the 2024 budget for the country’s healthcare system.
As reported, the National Government has cut down the proposed budget for the DOH by P10 billion, from the P209 billion allocated budget for 2023 to P199 billion under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“Ang panawagan talaga natin bago pa siya umupo dapat magkaroon talaga ng pro-people and pro-health worker… Dapat nauunawaan ang sentiment ng mga healthcare workers,” said Mendoza.
(Our call before he sits down is that there must be pro-people and pro-health workers... The sentiment of healthcare workers must be understood.) (SunStar Philippines)