Bukas ang ilan sa mga mambabatas kaugnay sa plano ni Health Secretary Ted Herbosa na bumuo ng isang Nursing Advisory Council at magtala ng chief nursing officer na may ranggong undersecretary.
Sa isang press conference inihayag ni Herbosa ang planong pagbuo sa naturang konseho na siyang tututok sa mga problemang kinahaharap ng mga nurse sa bansa.
Ayon kay ANAKALUSUGAN Party-list Representative Ray Reyes, maganda ang inisyatiba ng kalihim ngunit hindi aniya dapat kalimutan na ang isa sa pinakadahilan kung bakit nagkakaroon ng shortage ng nurse sa bansa ay dahil sa pasahod.
“Good to support this initiative. But let us be clear also on the very reason of the shortage: the wages we provide are not competitive even within the region. If we address this, we can be assured of quality nursing service for our citizens,” saad ni Reyes.
Pabor din si House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation Chair at Bohol Representative Kristine Alexie Tutor sa pagkakaroon ng National Nursing Advisory Council at Chief Nursing Officer para mas epektibong tugunan ang problema sa sweldo ng public at private nurses.
Dahil naman dito, mungkahi ng solon sa Department of Health (DOH) at Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) na bumuo ng isang wage and compensation system lalo na para sa mga private nurses na mas mababa ang sweldo kung ikukumpara sa government nurses.
“There are precedents for having a different wage structure for specialized workers. The wage and benefits policies for the private nurses can be designed to bridge the gap with their public sector counterparts through phased implementation covering three to seven years. This way, there is an adjustment period or transition to which the private hospitals and clinics can adjust,” pahayag ni Tutor.
Maaari din aniyang magpatupad ng wage subsidy gaya ng service contracting program para sa private nurses lalo at ang kanila namang trabaho ay isang public health function.
“A wage subsidy component can be built into the minimum wage and compensation system for private sector nurses. Initially, the wage subsidy could cover a portion of the minimum wage rate because they are performing a public health function and that could serve as basis for the wage subsidy, much in the same way as the other service contracting programs the national government already has,” dagdag ng Bohol representative. | ulat ni Kathleen Jean Forbes
