By Gabriela Baron
A physician in The Medical City in Ortigas, Pasig set aside thoughts of resigning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Sally Mae Abelanes, an Emergency Medicine Physician, said that her parents have been telling her to quit.
"If I don't continue, then who's gonna do it?" Abelanes said in an interview with GMA News' I-Witness.
Abelanes bared that there are frontliners who have been entertaining thoughts of resigning from their jobs.
"Mayroon naman na nagse-send na ng resignation forms and resignation letters kasi natatakot din of course yung families namin kung tutuloy namin talaga to o hindi (There are frontliners already sending resignation forms and resignation letter because their families are afraid if they continue)," she added.
"Alam namin na kung may umalis na isa o dalawa sa amin, sunud-sunod na. So kung umalis kaming lahat, sino ang maiiwan? (We know that if one or two of us resigns, another one will follow. So if we all leave, who will attend to the patients?)," Abelanes said.
The Medical City is one of the first hospitals to exceeded "full capacity" with COVID-19 cases.
Abelanes said that due to supply shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), there came a phase where they are almost recycled and reused PPEs.
"For a while, nagkaroon kami ng issue na baka kailangan na namin mag-reuse ng PPE. So yun yung time na parang maraming sinasabihan na ng family na mag-resign na lang kasi nga hindi (For a while, we had this issue that we might just reuse PPEs. That was the time when parents of our frontliners are urging them to resign because it's no longer safe)," she added.
But despite the exhausting battle against the pandemic, frontliners get good psychosocial support from their psych department.
Abelanes said that the hospital is providing them individual psychiatrist or psychologist to check on their mental health.
"If we're stressed, they give us counselling," she said.