NCMH eyes hiring over 600 nurses in next 3 years amid COVID-19 threat

The National Center for Mental Health (NCHM) is looking to hire 635 nurses in the next three years amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat.

In a statement, the NCHM said the staffing shift would be divided into three tranches in 2020, 2021, and 2022-- composed of five Nurse III positions, 57 Nurse II positions, and 573 Nurse I positions.

For 2020, 312 nurses are set for hiring. This will be composed of four Nurse III positions, 28 Nurse II positions, and 280 Nurse I positions.

The NCMH currently has 451 nurses handling an average daily number of 3,500 in-patients, according to the statement.

With the planned hiring of new nurses, the NCMH aims to meet its target of having around 1,086 nurses, to adequately meet the needs of a medical facility that has a bed capacity of 4,200.

"In order to serve our patients effectively and efficiently, we need to meet the nurse-to-patient ratio prescribed by the DOH," NCMH director Dr. Roland Cortez said.

"The NCMH would not be able to give its patient's the high quality mental health care that they need if we don't have enough nurses ... Now, with more nurses coming, we can finally do that without overworking our staff." he added.

However, Cortez assured the public that they had served their patients "in the best possible way" even before the additional nurse positions were approved.

The NCMH said it was the Department of Health that had endorsed to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the request for 635 nurses. The request was officially approved in March, the center said.

Cortez said he hopes their additional workforce could further help "the marginalized sectors of our society, the mentally ill patients... [despite] the many concerns and  problems of COVID-19." -MDM, GMA News