STATEMENT ON THE NATIONS HEALTH Press Release/31 July 2014 We share the concern of our stakeholders for our people’s health. The Government recognized the needs. And this is why we are working to address the many issues strategically, in a comprehensive manner with the end in view of developing an effective, responsive and sustainable health system. This is precisely the reason for the Aquino Health Agenda – that aims for the implementation of Universal Health Care that is directed towards ensuring the achievement of the health system goals for better health outcomes [public health MDGs achieved], sustained health financing [financial risk protection improved] and responsiveness by ensuring that all Filipinos, especially the disadvantaged have equitable access to affordable health care and a continuum of services [quality care delivery system accessible] with improved health governance . The triple increase in health budget since the start of the Aquino administration validates that health is a priority of the President [from Php 25 B in 2010 to Php 83.7 B in 2014]. Our Roadmap towards Universal Health Care or Kalusugan Pangkalahatan begins with actions and interventions directed towards primary prevention and health promotion, secondary prevention and Primary Health Care, and Tertiary and Curative Health Care. There are many challenges to our journey towards UHC or KP, one being human resources for health (HRH). And this is true of any organization, for that matter. Human resources are vital and have a key role to play for us to achieve our public health MDGs of reducing maternal and child mortality, controlling and eliminating infectious diseases, and promoting a healthy lifestyle and preventing non-communicable diseases; thus, we needed to address issues related to health human resources. The physician, nurse and midwife collective ratio is 22.67/10,000 population, while 24.31 combined health and allied health professionals serve every 10,000 population. This meets the WHO recommendation of 24 workers per 10,000 populations. The Global Health Workforce Alliance listed 57 countries facing human resources for health crisis and Philippines is not one of them. To address the mal-distribution of health workers and constraints of health devolution, among the first steps DOH did was to deploy HRH nationwide [For 2014, 215 Doctors to the Barrios, 11, 202 nurses, 2, 700 midwives and soon deployment of dentists], properly distributed with priority to poor vulnerable areas. We also trained and deployed 44,735 Community Health Teams to reach families with key messages and basic preventive care. The DOH also helps the health workers acquire the necessary skills, competencies and incentives to provide an effective service. Intensifying the programs for continuing education through telemedicine; expanding the Residency Training Program (RTP) in Family Medicine (95 doctors ongoing) to include MHOs and RHPs; Specialty nursing in various medical fields (227 nurses ongoing); ultrasound training for Municipal Health Officers (MHOs) and maintaining linkages among regulatory bodies. We have a good supply chain of health workers but we also need to create an environment to make the government practice attractive. The right health personnel should be in the right place at the right time. There is no shortage of health workers. The PhilHealth Primary Care Benefits package offers not only outpatient benefit package to the sponsored members but also provides additional incentives to the health personnel. On average, in a municipality with 10,000 families, a single doctor may receive an additional Php 44,000 per month, while complementary staff of nurses, midwives, and medical technologists may receive Php 17,000 monthly, and Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars can earn up to Php 4,000 every month from Philhealth reimbursements. Alongside addressing human resource needs in making quality care delivery system accessible, we are upgrading and improving health facilities for a total of Php 42.6 B [For 2014 we have upgraded and/or constructed, 2,685 BHS, 3,395 RHUs and 831 District, Provincial to Tertiary Referral hospitals]. On top of these all, the government has been creating a “conducive environment for health” – by progressively increasing financial support, aggressively pursuing policies like the RH and the Sin Tax, reform of the National Health Insurance Law, etc. Yes, we looked at the numbers, the types, the quality, the distribution – identified problems and strategies to address gaps immediately, while looking at a long term solution to the problem. And there is more work to be done. We can achieve our shared goals faster when we all work together.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 02:47:29 +0000
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