Health workers press DBM for overdue bonus

MANILA, Philippines — More than 100 health workers from various public hospitals in Metro Manila trooped to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) office yesterday to demand the release of their long overdue Performance-Based Bonus (PBB).

Members of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) called on the DBM to accommodate their request for a dialogue for the PBB which covers three years or from 2021 to 2023.

Department of Health hospitals did not receive their PBB due to the DOH’s non-compliance with the necessary requirements.

“AHW unions stand firm that DOH hospitals should not be penalized or adversely affected if the Department of Health central office fails to meet certain requirements for compliance with the Performance-Based Bonus,” the group said in a statement.

The health workers are also asking the government for a living wage increase based on the actual situation and demands of government employees.

“It should be P36,000 entry salary for health workers or P1,200 as national minimum wage, and P50,000 entry salary for nurses and other allied health professionals,” the group said.

They also called for the mass hiring of permanent health workers which they said could address the chronic understaffing in public hospitals and health facilities.

Dangers of virtual health care

Meanwhile, a health expert has warned that adoption of a virtual health care setup can lead to a further decline in the number of nurses working in hospitals and other health facilities.

“It will drain existing nurses in health care especially in hospitals for obvious reason of higher salary in this virtual nursing work,” Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious diseases specialist at the San Lazaro Hospital, said in an interview.

He said that once this kind of work system is adopted in the country and becomes a hit, government should intervene to ensure hospitals don’t run out of nurses.

The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. said different problems with accountability may be encountered with the virtual nursing work while the Filipino Nurses United raised concern that the work setup will make patient care fragmented.

Earlier, a US company said it is set to bring such innovation in the country to link the Philippine and the US health care system.

Under this setup, a Filipino nurse or sitter will be using laptops and cameras to monitor patients in US hospitals. The sitter will be connected to the US health care system and can communicate to caregivers and nurses in the hospital.