Government Response to the Risk factors

Affecting Covid-19 healthcare workers

By
Heinz Ulrich Dela Pena
Myco Dannery M. Esmane
Caleb John Q. Tampol

4th year AB Political Science students under the

College of Arts and Sciences.

S.y. 2021 - 2022

Silliman University
Table of Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 2
2. Review of Related Literature……………………………………………………..
3. Methodology………………………………………………………………………...
4. Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………..
5. Discussion
CHAPTER 1

Introduction - According to Amnesty International, the Philippine government must act quickly
to address the country's COVID-19 situation, which has resulted in thousands of people being
unable to obtain sufficient healthcare. Following a substantial increase in hospitalizations and
new cases since March, hospitals are still at risk of being overburdened.

"The Philippine government's persistent failure to provide an effective response over a year into
the pandemic is a significant human rights problem," said Amnesty International's Deputy
Regional Director Emerlynne Gil. "Using all available resources, the authorities must offer
healthcare without discrimination."

"Without further delay, specific steps to protect those most affected, particularly health workers
and those most at danger, must be done." Furthermore, the government must cease its attacks
on human rights advocates and campaigners, which only exacerbates an already severe
situation."

With approximately 116,000 new COVID-19 cases documented as of this writing, the Philippines
has the second largest number of new cases in Southeast Asia. COVID-19 has infected nearly
1 million people since the outbreak began, and 17,000 people have died as a result of the virus.

Since October 2020, the country's daily total has risen steadily, reaching almost 15,000 new
cases on 3 April 2021, the highest number since the epidemic began in March 2020. The
number of daily deaths in April 2021 was likewise the highest on record.

Statement of the Problem

1.1 Difficulty of Healthcare access.

- The mishandling of the epidemic has resulted in a serious lack of access to healthcare,
which has proven more acute in recent weeks, amid a renewed increase of COVID-19
cases. Hospitals are being overburdened, according to health officials, due to a lack of
beds and insufficient health personnel. Unpaid benefits and a lack of medical-grade
personal protective equipment are other problems for workers (PPE). Metro Manila and
the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have been under harsher
quarantine measures for the previous few weeks, after numerous hospitals reported
'critical' occupancy rates following a spike in COVID-19 cases. "Seeing hundreds of
ambulances and private vehicles waiting outside hospitals is heartbreaking. Inside are
persons with COVID-19 and their families, some of whom are dying while waiting for
medical attention. Others are transported to other medical facilities located hundreds of
kilometers away, only to be turned away owing to a shortage of healthcare capacity,"
said Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director. Dr. Pauline
Convocar, an emergency medical specialist for both public and commercial hospitals,
 told Amnesty International about the Philippines' lack of preparedness in health care,
which has been a problem for decades but has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Military personnel have been chastised for leading the government's pandemic response
agency rather than public health specialists.

1.2 Healthcare workers at risk.

- Accusations that the government mismanaged COVID-19 emergency funding have
driven Filipino healthcare workers to breaking point. Protesters assembled in front of the
Department of Health on September 1st, wearing safety gear, to demand the release of
unpaid financial compensation and an increase in state money to hire more palliative
care professionals. Health-care professionals in the Philippines are chronically
underfunded, underpaid, and overworked. If these difficulties aren't addressed, the
profession may face a mass departure in the near future. Hospitals in the Philippines are
overburdened, and COVID infections are on the rise on a regular basis. In the
Philippines, the more contagious delta variety of coronavirus is the most common,
causing substantial issues for the healthcare system. Despite the fact that 34.1 million
vaccine doses have been administered, only 13.1 percent of the population has been
fully immunized. Infection rates are at an all-time high, with 16,000 daily infections, up
20% from the previous week. The Philippines' cumulative case numbers have topped
two million, and the archipelago has recorded over 33,000 fatalities out of a population of
108 million people since the first COVID-related fatality outside of China. Workers on the
front lines are particularly vulnerable. "You are exposed to the virus when you work in a
hospital during a pandemic like COVID-19," said Jao Clumia, union president at St.
Luke's Medical Center. "It's as though you've already put one foot in the grave." Many
people hoped that the pandemic would result in significant reforms in the health-care
system. Instead, it has exacerbated existing problems. Filipino healthcare salaries are
significantly lower than those of other professionals in Southeast Asia, according to a
survey undertaken by information aggregator iPrice Group. According to the data, nurses
in the Philippines earn 57 percent less than those in Vietnam, the next lowest-paying
country. Singaporean nurses are said to make 480 percent more than Filipino nurses,
with monthly salaries of $1,000 and $6,500, respectively. Despite the fact that the
Philippines is a prominent exporter of healthcare workers, local supply is struggling to
keep up with demand due to the pandemic. According to the Philippine Private Hospitals
Association, roughly 40% of palliative care professionals in private hospitals quit last
year, and the delta variant is expected to exacerbate this trend. Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the
World Health Organization's regional director for the western Pacific, warned the
Philippine government in a report with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to
guarantee that its healthcare personnel are receiving enough support. "Surges are
driving health systems dangerously close to what we term the red line in some
locations," Dr. Kasai warned. He warns that if ICU capacity is exceeded, hospitals will be
unable to provide essential care. Protests in front of the Department of Health are seen
by many frontline employees as important to force a change in circumstances. "Does the
government believe we want to be protesting in the streets?" "We'd rather be caring for
our patients in our hospitals," a frontline worker told Deutsche Welle.
 Protests appear to be having an effect. President Rodrigo Duterte has responded to the
public's outrage by directing the health and budget ministries to pay medical
professionals what they are owed. Duterte instructed Department of Health Minister
Francisco Duque III to pay healthcare workers "whatever money there is" in a public
address. "Give the perks that nurses in both the government and the private sector are
requesting," Duterte remarked. "The volunteers should be compensated."
To avoid becoming the virus's new epicenter, the government will have to act quickly.
The first step is to ensure that critical healthcare employees receive enough support and
financial recompense.

Significance of the Study.

1.3 What has the government done for our healthcare worker’s safety?
- The significance of this study will bring light to what options and benefits healthcare
workers have in terms of their safety, as well as divulging what the Philippine
government has done for the risk reduction and safety of the “Front liners” a.k.a the
healthcare workers of the Philippines.