***Two
(2) Stories***
Camille
P. Balagtas
People's
TONIGHT
August
6, 2002
SHORTAGE
OF NURSES TO MAN EMERGENCY ROOMS LOOMS
High
paying jobs for nurses abroad fuel exodus of nurses creating domestic shortage
Getting
hospitalized can get risky due to nurse shortage
The
surplus of good nurses is more imaginary than real and hospitals in First World
economies are right now hiring more Filipino nurses than the country can
produce, Senator Edgardo J. Angara revealed.
There
is a critical shortage of nurses in many categories, including operating room
nurses, emergency room (ER) nurses, nurses in wards, ICUs, delivery rooms and
nurseries which has affected even the best and the biggest hospitals in the
country. If the drain does not stop,
the country's hospitals will be emptied of their operating nurses within ten
years, warned Angara, whose late parents were both nurses and rural health
pioneers.
During
a senate hearing on the proposed amendments to the Nursing Act of 1991 on
Friday, Angara revealed the following statistics on the massive drain on the
country's nursing pool:
*
Nursing schools have been turning out an average of 6,000 graduates a year, a
big drop from the 23,000 to 27,000 graduating size of nursing schools in the
early 90s
* Last
year, a total of 13,500 nurses - more than double the yearly turnout of nursing
schools -left the country to work overseas
* From
January to May of 2002, a total of 4,700 nurses had left for overseas job and
this was 85 percent of the 6000 yearly nursing graduates
Angara
said it is in this context that a "manpower program" basically
focused on granting cash and non-cash incentives to keep the good nurses in the
country is imperative in the proposed amendments to the Nursing Act of 1991.
Angara said that incentives can be granted
on an "individual or institutional basis" to keep the critical
nursing skills needed by the country.
The
country's health program need good nurses and their skills and proposed
amendments should address the exodus of good nurses, said Angara, chairman of
the senate committee on health in the 8th and 9th Congress.
Angara's
proposal immediately elicited actions from the committee.
Committee
chairman senator Juan Flavier constituted a sub-committee to study the Angara
proposal.
"These
entities should sit down to figure out what kind of incentives can be given to
the nurses to retain them for a period of time," said Angara.
Angara
said the proposed amendments to the Nursing Act has to balance the critical need
to keep good nurses for the country's health programs and protecting the
individual freedom of the nurses.
///camille
p. balagtas
Camille
P. Balagtas
People's
TONIGHT
August
6, 2002
SENATE
SHOWDOWN, A NO SHOW
===========================================================
Senate
Majority Leader Loren Legarda Leviste said that members of the Senate Majority
have decided to have the Journal of the June 3 Sine Die adjournment considered,
read and approved in this afternoon'' session.
"We
need to have the Journal of the June 3 Sine Die adjournemnt approved so that we
can proceed with our legislative agenda," Legarda said.
On June
3, Senate President Franklin Drilon adjourned the session sine die due to the
absence of a quorum. Only Senators
Joker Arroyo, Noli de Castro, Loren Legarda, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto,
Manuel Villar and the Senate President were present during the session.
"There
have been attempts to break the Senate impasse, the most recent of which was
our adoption of Resolution No. 391," Legarda said.
As
stated in the Senate Rules, the reading and approval of the Journal of a
previous session takes precedence among the other business or agenda for each
session day.
"We
have deferred the reading and approval of the Journal of the June 3-adjournment
several times to avoid friction between the Majority and Minority, and to avoid
aggravating the situation. Enough time
has been given to all the Senators to review all the other Journals of the
previous sessions, including the 82nd session of the First Regular Session
covering the dates May 27, 28, 29, and 30, 2002."
"When
the Senate unanimously adopted Resolution No. 391, we hoped to put to rest all
other issues brought about by the impasse.
In fact, we explicitly stated that 'on all other matters, the primacy
and authority of the administration senators including the authority to resolve
and dispose of the same, is recognized."
"That
clause gives us the authority to have the Journal of the June 3 Sine Die
adjournemnt read and approved this afternoon," Legarda concluded. "After its approval, then we expect to
put all matters and issues to rest and enable us to buckle down to work."
Stalled
for about two weeks by a dispute over a rump session last June, the Senate
finally got some legislative work done yesterday, passing three measures idled
by the senators' quarrel.
The
legislative mill rumbled back to life after the majority pushed the approval of
all the Senate journals, including that of the June 3 session which called for
a sine die adjournment.
The
Senate had been stymied by the row over the legality of the three days of
sessions called by the group of Sen. Edgardo Angara after the opposition gained
the upper hand in the chamber with the defection of Sen. John Osmeņa.
After
some deft political maneuvering, the administration bloc led by Senate
President Drilon has once again wrested control.
Before
the start of yesterday's session, the Angara group had anticipated the Drilon
camp to use its numerical superiority to get the journals approved. The Angara
side decided not to vote for the journals' approval and let it be carried as
such.
True
enough, the majority rammed through the approval of the journals, but not
before it encountered some pockets of resistance.
Administration
Senators Joker Arroyo and Francis Pangilinan rejected the approval of the
journals without explanation, while Sen. Renato Cayetano expressed his
reservations.
Senate
Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. stood up to put on record that the
collective objection of the minority be included in the journal approving the
June 3 session.
That
issue have been settled for the moment, 21 senators approved the Chain Saw,
Free Patent and Fil-Hispanic bills, pursuant to the Senate Resolution 391.
Drilon, as the presiding officer, did not vote.
The
fourth measure, the absentee voting bill, was scheduled to further debate,
interpellation and possible amendments.
Angara
said the new setup was a "win-win" situation for the chamber.
"It's good that sober minds prevailed during the caucus and that we were
able to get into a win-win agreement. If we always debate over legalities and
technicalities, nothing good will happen in this chamber," he said.///camille
p. balagtas