DOH orders deployment of doctors to Cebu City to help in COVID-19 fight

Published Jun 28, 2020 12:26:16 PM

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 28)— The Health Department has ordered the deployment of doctors— including “doctors to the barrios”— to Cebu City to help aid its battle against the COVID-19 crisis, its spokesperson said Sunday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III issued a directive to deploy additional physicians following the reported “understaffing” of health workers in the area, Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said in a statement.

Vergeire said the deployment will not be permanent, as the doctors— particularly rural health physicians— will be tasked to provide relief for the current staff, similar to previous assignments in the Marawi and Yolanda crises.

“Meaning the municipality they serve already has a municipal-hired doctor ensuring that the municipalities they serve will not be left doctorless during their assignment. Health care services will continue,” Vergeire said.

“The very nature of the DTTB (Doctors to the Barrios) program is to post doctors, usually in most remote areas where access to healthcare is a challenge, and where quality health care service is most needed,” the spokesperson added, noting how the coronavirus cases in Cebu City have “reached a critical point.”

In an earlier interview with CNN Philippines, the Philippine Nurses’ Association Cebu Chapter revealed that several nurses in the area are being sent to quarantine facilities, leaving hospitals with understaffed healthcare workers.

Aside from limited manpower, the group also cried for help on depleting medical supplies. Its president Joseph Descallar likewise admitted that many nurses in Cebu are already contemplating on quitting their jobs due to unmet benefits and incentives.

Coronavirus cases in the Philippines are nearing 35,000, with health officials now tagging Cebu City as a “hotspot” of the infectious disease.

SOURCE: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/6/28/DOH-deploys-doctors-to-the-barrio-Cebu-City-COVID.html