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Manila Bulletin devider devider PH lacks health workers to care for seniors

PH lacks health workers to care for seniors

Published Jan 28, 2019 03:23 pm
By Hannah Torregoza Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara has called on the government to look into the country’s ability to meet the healthcare needs of its senior citizens, noting that there are not enough health workers specializing in geriatric medicine in the Philippines. Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Sonny Angara Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara
(Sonny Angara Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) Angara said he is alarmed over the lack of professionals specializing in the care of the elderly in the country, saying the government now seems to be facing a serious shortage of geriatricians or medical doctors who are specially trained to evaluate and manage the unique healthcare needs of older people. The senator said a report from Retirement and Healthcare Coalition showed there were only 140 geriatric doctors operating in the country, and without specialized geriatric nurses. Out of 140 or so geriatric doctors across the country, about half do not have actual clinic or hospital experience, largely due to lack of facilities where health professionals can train for this specialty, the lawmaker further noted. “Assuming that there are around eight million senior citizens in the country, a geriatric doctor is tasked to cater to the varied needs of around 57,000 elder citizens,” Angara said. “This means that if they wanted to attend to everyone, a doctor will have to see around 150 senior citizen patients for 365 days straight,” he pointed out. In the Philippines, Angara said only St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) has a dedicated Geriatric Center but “quite frankly, hospitals like SLMC are not the kind of facility that the elderly in the marginal sector could easily access.” Angara said this situation bolsters the need to strengthen the competency of the state-run National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH). It is the country’s first center for aged care which was established in 2010 as a training and research facility for geriatric medicine and gerontology.
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