Amid the rising coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections in the country, a group of doctors is weighing the pros and cons of asking for another "timeout."
In an interview with TeleRadyo on Thursday, Sept. 2, Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) President Dr. Maricar Limpin said that a lot of doctors are already suffering from physical and emotional fatigue "due to the sheer number of patients."
"Hindi ko na masabing kayang-kaya katulad nung mga nakaraang araw kasi talagang medyo nakakapagod na. Ang feeling na namin parang nasusuka na kami. Ibig sabihin medyo nahihirapan na kami, ginagawa lang namin ang aming makakaya para patuloy na pagsilbihan ang mamamayang Pilipino (We are already exhausted. We feel sick. We're having a hard time, but we're still doing our best to continue serving the Filipino people)," Limpin said.
She also bared that some of their colleagues in Cebu revealed that they sometimes have to decide on who among the patients should be given the ventilator or respirator because there are not enough supplies.
"Hindi pa kami masyadong makapag-decide kasi pinag-uusapan pa namin. Medyo mahabang usapin ito, pagdating sa pagtawag ng timeout. Tulad din noong dati, noong nagtawag kami ng timeout, hindi naman kami yung isang saglit lang nakapagdesisyon (We haven't decided yet because we're still talking to other doctors. When it comes to calling timeouts, it's a long discussion. Just like before, when we called for a timeout, it's not a sudden decision)," Limpin said.
"Kasi kailangan talagang pag-usapan nang mabuti, matingnan namin lahat ng aspeto before kami tumawag ng timeout. Inaalam na namin kung ano yung mga sitwasyon sa iba't ibang parte ng Pilipinas, inaalam din namin kung kakayanin pa ba namin (We really need to talk to each other carefully and look at all aspects before calling a timeout. We already know what the situation in other parts of the Philippines, we're still thinking if we can still do it)," she added.
Limpin said the number of COVID-19 should go down to help ease the exhaustion of health workers.
"Ang kailangan talaga mapababa natin itong kaso. That's the only way na medyo gagaan ang aming pakiramdam. Right now bukod sa physical stress, we're also emotionally stressed (What we really need to do is lower our infections. That's the only way to make us feel a little better. Right now apart from physical stress, we're also emotionally stressed)."
In 2020, Filipino doctors and nurses called for a "timeout" from Aug. 1 to 15 to allow health workers to "regroup and improve" their pandemic response.