Some nurses from San Lazaro Hospital renewed their call for better treatment by staging a silent protest Thursday (July 16).
Photos sent by the Filipino Nurses United (FNU) showed several pairs of nurses' shoes placed outside the hospital with signs stating the nurses' demands.
Among these is their demand to repair the hospital elevator since several health workers have already been injured while transferring patients and heavy equipment to upper floors.
The nurses asked if the hospital management should wait until there is no one left to use the shoes.
Earlier, FNU members from the hospital issued a statement saying that they are dealing with work overload and unfair treatment.
"Nursing staff and other health workers are treated as robots, not human beings. The patient does come first, but their safety should be top priority, for if we get infected no one will be left to care for the sick," the group said.
San Lazaro Hospital, a referral hospital for infectious diseases, accommodated many of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients at the onset of the pandemic.
The group said over 40 of the hospital staff tested positive for the disease. The limited number of workers resulted in "too much physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion."
They also claimed that they were being instructed to reuse their personal protective equipment (PPE) even after 12-hour shifts, with some doctors being forced to buy their own.
They said they are also given an "unacceptable salary and unreasonable implementation of hazard pay," on top of not being given sufficient support in terms of transportation and accommodation.
The management of San Lazaro Hospital has since denied all their claims, saying that they observe the standard nurse to patient ratio and are "compliant" with the provision of salaries, benefits, and PPE.