The Department of Health (DOH) will redeploy doctors and nurses from other regions to augment the need for more healthcare workers (HCWs) in hospitals in Metro Manila.
In a statement, the DOH said 136 doctors and nurses from other regions will be assigned to seven DOH hospitals, two specialty hospitals and one regional hospital in the National Capital Region (NCR) to provide additional support in the pandemic response.
The first batch of HCWs consisted of 42 doctors and nurses from Regions I, IV-A and V.
They were assigned to East Avenue Medical Center and Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City, and Amang Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Marikina City.
Another 94 healthcare workers from Regions VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will be redeployed to six other hospitals starting this week, the DOH said.
These hospitals are the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Lung Center of the Philippines and the off-site extension of Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center at the Quezon Institute in Quezon City, San Lazaro Hospital and Tondo Medical Center in the City of Manila, and Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City.
Hospitals in the metropolis have been overwhelmed with patients amid the the ongoing surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.
The Health department said all reassigned HCWs are entitled to swab testing prior, during and post deployment, per diem, work transportation expenses, accommodation and meals, among others on top of their salaries from their mother offices.
“DOH also commits to supporting hospitals and other health facilities in the fight against COVID through continuous provision of personal protective equipment and augmentation of human resources for health through redeployment and hiring to ensure that there are adequate healthcare workers that can provide quality health services to COVID-19 and other patients in need of medical care,” it said.
Likewise, the DOH has urged the public to utilize the hotlines provided by their respective local government units and the telemedicine services for initial consults and non-emergency cases to help decongest hospitals.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country has breached the 160,000-mark as the DOH reported an additional 9,216 new infections on April 8.