Some medical frontliners in Cebu City thought of resigning due to exhaustion and low salary while attending to patients with COVID-19.
Intensive care nurse “Vanessa” who works in a hospital in Cebu City had coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
She admitted that she had already considered resigning because besides being tired of serving infected patients, her salary of P15,000 was not enough.
According to her, even there is hazard pay, it is marginally small. She also said they struggled to work because the personal protective equipment was limited.
And to prevent more nurses and other medical personnel from resigning during this pandemic, the Cebu City government has decided to give P10,000 incentives to every health worker in the city to assist in the COVID-19 efforts of the LGU.
But for the Philippine Nurses Association in Cebu, this is not enough.
“I just hope it’s not going to be at the P15,000, and it should be given to all the nurses, not only a selective few,” said PNA Cebu, President Joseph Descallar.
Visayas overseer and Environment chief Roy Cimatu is still studying how to address this problem.
Aside from the overcrowded hospitals, critical care capacity of city hospitals is estimated at 86.6 percent.
“We are responding to the call of the president and the Department of Health to raise the number of beds,” Cimatu said. There are currently more than 13,000 active cases in Cebu City. About 1,711 were hospitalized while 2,190 were in isolation facilities.
Also read: DOH fails to distribute compensation for ‘COVID-19 heroes’
The Department of Health (DOH) has released Department Memorandum No. 2020-0153 in April which would give the following benefits to health workers serving during the pandemic:
- monthly salary compensation with a 20% premium based on the basic salary, regardless of the number of quarantine days per month;
- protective personal equipment (PPEs); board and lodging while on duty or quarantine;
- psychosocial support, as needed;
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units, which may be granted through Health Human Resource Development Bureau (HHRDB) certification;
- medico-legal assistance; and
- preferential evaluation for DOH vacancies, depending on qualifications. Priority will be given to those who signed up as volunteers for the COVID-19 response in DOH sites.
Additionally, the health personnel will receive hazard pay of Php500/day whether on duty or under required quarantine; GSIS group insurance (one time premium of Php 500); benefits under the Bayanihan We Heal As One Act such as PhilHealth hospitalization benefits, Php 100,000 in case of infirmity due to COVID-19 and Php 1,000,000 in case of death; and a communication and transportation allowance of Php 1,000/month.
Public health workers, who are exposed to health risk in the light of the pandemic, are also eligible to receive one-time special risk allowance of up to 25% of their monthly basic pay, subject