The Blog Rounds theme for this week is a topic I feel I do not have the authority to write about. As a promdi anesthesiologist, what do I know of the big picture or the nitty-gritty of the Philippine Health Care System beyond the sterile operating room walls? But on the way to the OR and back, I get a glimpse of what health care is in my province and from this, strong feelings are formed, in different measures of pride, shame, amazement and disgust.
Day in and day out I see and hear about health care providers who are dedicated to their work and are doing excellently in whatever aspect of providing health care is their lot – be it as physicians, nurses, hospital/health unit staff, nursing aide, teacher, midwife, etc. If I look closely there is always someone or something that would make me say, “Ang galing ng Pilipino! I’m proud to be one.”
Time and again we would have patients who live abroad and yet they come to the Philippines to have surgery because they say “Ibang klase ang medical care sa ibang bansa. Iba talaga mag-alaga ang Pilipino. Kaya dito kami magpapa-opera.”
Unlike many provinces in the Philippines, Negros Oriental has been blessed with high ranking government officials and hospital administrators who have not been tainted with even rumors of graft and corruption. Our present governor, who used to be our congressman, is a medical doctor himself and I could see how he sincerely cares for his constituents and how he has moved with passion and fervor to improve health care in the province. Our present congressman, who used to be our governor [yeah, our politicians are friendly here, they exchange positions without bitter bloody battles], has also acted likewise. Though not a physician, he and his people have been patients themselves so they know first hand the benefits of having or not having a good health care system. [And no, they are not my relatives. :-)]
For example, to address the dwindling number of doctors at the provincial hospital, the local government decided to rehire the retired medical practitioners and let them man the out-patient clinics. This freed the regular residents to focus more on their 24-hour-ward duties. Of course, it is not enough. But still, kahit papaano...
Another example is the procurement of top of the line equipment for the hospitals. The private hospitals buy equipment from income generated from operations as well as donations from generous alumni, philanthropic individuals and civic action groups. The provincial hospital gets funding from the pork barrel allotted for each district. So we have state of the art equipment at the NOPH but sadly there are so many basic supplies and needs that are lacking. Don't ask me why because I am baffled myself.
Then there is the TB DOTS (Tuberculosis - Directly Observed Treatment- Short Course) project which is very active in Dumaguete. It’s a program with the goal of eradicating tuberculosis in our country.
On the national front, the Philippine Heart Association also has its own advocacy campaign to make people aware that many of the illnesses today are preventable. They are sponsoring fun runs, cookfests, painting and essay writing contests and other such activities to increase public awareness of the need to take care of our health.
And the list of good things goes on and on. What I’m saying is, there are a lot of good things being done in our health care system and there are people who sincerely care about our people’s health and well being. So what’s the problem? Well, remember Newton’s third law in physics that goes "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," or in sari-sari store economy, we say there is the other side of the coin.
If the list of good things goes on and on, sadly, the list of bad and ugly things goes longer still.
For example, there's the...
Or, would you believe there was that ...
Oh, how about the...
::sigh::
For some reason, I find that I do not want to post that horrible list here. Maybe because my own friends and colleagues are somehow involved in this list.
But there’s going to be a comprehensive list over at MerryCherry’s weblog tomorrow so please go there! I’ve been reading some of the entries to this edition of TBR and I say Amen to most of the posts.
Okay, I can’t resist. Just have to add my personal two-hundred pesos worth (isn’t this the equivalent of two cents nowadays?) to the list:
1) When I studied nursing a few years ago, about 90 percent of our class was made up of government doctors, from the provincial hospital, from the district hospitals in the various towns and cities in Negros Oriental, from the Rural Health Units in the barrios. Even if only half of these doctors-turned-nurses leave our country, can you imagine what healthcare would be like in our province? I remember one doctor telling me, “If only the government would increase our salary to even just PhP 40,000.00 a month, we wouldn’t leave. We like it here in the Philippines but what the government is doing is abusive.” I absolutely agree.
2) Have you heard of Republic Act No. 7305 otherwise known as the Magna Carta Bill for Public Health Workers? Go read it and weep. Why weep? Because it is so beautiful on paper but in reality, it has not been fully implemented. And THAT failed implementation has been the subject of much contention at the provincial hospital. The Magna Carta bill clearly states that work should only be 40 hours a week so when a doctor goes on two 24-hours duties, then he has gone over the required 40 hours. Does he get paid for the overtime? No. Does he have to go to the hospital even when he has done his two 24-hour duties? But of course. Who else would man the hospital? Does he get hazard pay? Unheard of. Does he get flack from the local bombo radio stations for every complaint disgruntled patients make, valid or otherwise? Regularly.
Do you now wonder why the provincial hospital physicians are un-enamored with their work?
3)The three hospitals here are swarming with student nurses. But the staff nurses are flying off like anything. One of our former OR nurses now works in California and he said though he works hard there, he is well compensated. One month’s salary in the Philippines is equivalent to one morning’s work in America.
Need I say more?
Day in and day out I see and hear about health care providers who are dedicated to their work and are doing excellently in whatever aspect of providing health care is their lot – be it as physicians, nurses, hospital/health unit staff, nursing aide, teacher, midwife, etc. If I look closely there is always someone or something that would make me say, “Ang galing ng Pilipino! I’m proud to be one.”
Time and again we would have patients who live abroad and yet they come to the Philippines to have surgery because they say “Ibang klase ang medical care sa ibang bansa. Iba talaga mag-alaga ang Pilipino. Kaya dito kami magpapa-opera.”
Unlike many provinces in the Philippines, Negros Oriental has been blessed with high ranking government officials and hospital administrators who have not been tainted with even rumors of graft and corruption. Our present governor, who used to be our congressman, is a medical doctor himself and I could see how he sincerely cares for his constituents and how he has moved with passion and fervor to improve health care in the province. Our present congressman, who used to be our governor [yeah, our politicians are friendly here, they exchange positions without bitter bloody battles], has also acted likewise. Though not a physician, he and his people have been patients themselves so they know first hand the benefits of having or not having a good health care system. [And no, they are not my relatives. :-)]
For example, to address the dwindling number of doctors at the provincial hospital, the local government decided to rehire the retired medical practitioners and let them man the out-patient clinics. This freed the regular residents to focus more on their 24-hour-ward duties. Of course, it is not enough. But still, kahit papaano...
Another example is the procurement of top of the line equipment for the hospitals. The private hospitals buy equipment from income generated from operations as well as donations from generous alumni, philanthropic individuals and civic action groups. The provincial hospital gets funding from the pork barrel allotted for each district. So we have state of the art equipment at the NOPH but sadly there are so many basic supplies and needs that are lacking. Don't ask me why because I am baffled myself.
Then there is the TB DOTS (Tuberculosis - Directly Observed Treatment- Short Course) project which is very active in Dumaguete. It’s a program with the goal of eradicating tuberculosis in our country.
On the national front, the Philippine Heart Association also has its own advocacy campaign to make people aware that many of the illnesses today are preventable. They are sponsoring fun runs, cookfests, painting and essay writing contests and other such activities to increase public awareness of the need to take care of our health.
And the list of good things goes on and on. What I’m saying is, there are a lot of good things being done in our health care system and there are people who sincerely care about our people’s health and well being. So what’s the problem? Well, remember Newton’s third law in physics that goes "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," or in sari-sari store economy, we say there is the other side of the coin.
If the list of good things goes on and on, sadly, the list of bad and ugly things goes longer still.
For example, there's the...
Or, would you believe there was that ...
Oh, how about the...
::sigh::
For some reason, I find that I do not want to post that horrible list here. Maybe because my own friends and colleagues are somehow involved in this list.
But there’s going to be a comprehensive list over at MerryCherry’s weblog tomorrow so please go there! I’ve been reading some of the entries to this edition of TBR and I say Amen to most of the posts.
Okay, I can’t resist. Just have to add my personal two-hundred pesos worth (isn’t this the equivalent of two cents nowadays?) to the list:
1) When I studied nursing a few years ago, about 90 percent of our class was made up of government doctors, from the provincial hospital, from the district hospitals in the various towns and cities in Negros Oriental, from the Rural Health Units in the barrios. Even if only half of these doctors-turned-nurses leave our country, can you imagine what healthcare would be like in our province? I remember one doctor telling me, “If only the government would increase our salary to even just PhP 40,000.00 a month, we wouldn’t leave. We like it here in the Philippines but what the government is doing is abusive.” I absolutely agree.
2) Have you heard of Republic Act No. 7305 otherwise known as the Magna Carta Bill for Public Health Workers? Go read it and weep. Why weep? Because it is so beautiful on paper but in reality, it has not been fully implemented. And THAT failed implementation has been the subject of much contention at the provincial hospital. The Magna Carta bill clearly states that work should only be 40 hours a week so when a doctor goes on two 24-hours duties, then he has gone over the required 40 hours. Does he get paid for the overtime? No. Does he have to go to the hospital even when he has done his two 24-hour duties? But of course. Who else would man the hospital? Does he get hazard pay? Unheard of. Does he get flack from the local bombo radio stations for every complaint disgruntled patients make, valid or otherwise? Regularly.
Do you now wonder why the provincial hospital physicians are un-enamored with their work?
3)The three hospitals here are swarming with student nurses. But the staff nurses are flying off like anything. One of our former OR nurses now works in California and he said though he works hard there, he is well compensated. One month’s salary in the Philippines is equivalent to one morning’s work in America.
Need I say more?
5 comments:
Wow, you made it Doc! Hahaha. You get my most optimistic entry award!
The Blog Rounds 6th Edition here. Thanks!
"basic supplies and needs that are lacking"?
Surely not.
www.azream.us
It's really great to see so much effort! Great post, Doc Ness
Joey
http://www.joeymd.com
Indeed, you may be missing your true vocation: we are in the company of a great writer in you, DocNess (are you related to Loch?heheh.joke). Can i 'reprint' your piece on my blog and yahoogroup?giving credit where it's due, of course. It's just too good not to pass on, is why! :)
To my dear Martian friend who is not really from Mars but from the Marshland which is just two swamps away from the Loch Ness, actually,
Sure you may reprint and link to any and all of my posts, hehehe.
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