DOH: Over 1K health workers deployed to aid flood victims

The Department of Health (DOH) said it has deployed over 1,000 medical personnel in health centers nationwide to assist flood victims.

At the same time, it said several government hospitals have been readied to increase their capacity to accommodate patients needing medical attention.

In a public briefing on Thursday, DOH spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said a total of 1,184 doctors and nurses are ready, especially in areas hit by floods from the inclement weather.

“Naka-standby naman po at ready ang ating mga doktor at nurse sa ating mga health centers… Ito po yung mga doktor at mga nurse na naka-deploy sa Ilocos, sa Central Luzon, sa MIMAROPA, sa Bicol at sa Metro Manila. Maaring mas mataas po ang numero dahil ito pa lamang po yung dumadating sa amin ng preliminary numbers,” he shared.

(Our doctors and nurses are ready and on standby in our health centers… These are the doctors and nurses deployed in Ilocos, Central Luzon, MIMAROPA, Bicol, and Metro Manila. The numbers may possibly increase because these are just the preliminary numbers that we got.)

Domingo said health workers on duty are also receiving adequate care.

“Sinisigurado po ng ating kagawaran ng DOH ang proper rotation ng personnel. Mayroon kaming proper working hours and rotation, pinapahinga rin po natin para dun sa mga hospital na malalaki meron po mga dormitory, may mga tulugan na malinis kapag naka-off-duty ang mga health workers… Sila po ay pwedeng magpahinga, pinapakain po ng husto, pinapatulog, para nakakapahinga po, para ready again pagdating ng kanilang duty shift,” he shared.

(The DOH is ensuring proper rotation of personnel. We have proper working hours and rotation, and are ensuring that there are dormitories in big hospitals for them to rest… They are also allowed to rest, eat properly, sleep, so that they are well-rested for their duty shift.)

“Hindi lamang po yung pasyente yung kailangang alagaan, yung mismong mga gumagamot po ay kailangang alagaan rin. Kasama rin po naman yan sa training naming mga doktor,” he added.

(We take care of our personnel who attend to patients. That is also part of our training as doctors.)

Meanwhile, Domingo said several hospitals have increased their bed capacity to attend to more patients.

“Kunwari po kung dati ay hanggang 100 beds lang ang hospital, meron po yung allowance na pwede nga tumaas by 10% or 20% additional beds, depende po sa layout ng hospital,” he shared.

(Fo example, a hospital's 100-bed capacity can increase by 10 to 20 percent, depending on its layout.)

Earlier, the DOH said it has deployed P31 million worth of emergency medicine nationwide, with an additional P180 million worth of medicine on standby for deployment.

DOH also announced a price freeze for 148 types of medicine in 40 areas under a state of calamity amid the combined effects of cyclones Crising, Dante, Emong, and the Southwest Monsoon. —LDF, GMA Integrated News