The deployment of nurses and other Human Resource for Health (HRH) workers will continue in 2023 under the Department of Health’s National Health Workforce Support System (NHWSS).
The National Health Workforce Support System (formerly Human Resources for Health Deployment Program) is the thrust of the government to deploy, redistribute, and retain health workers in the country to enhance access to quality health services and improve health outcomes.
UPDATE: During the Senate Finance SubCommittee hearing for 2023 budget of DOH, Officer in charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire said that they will hire 21,547 health workers under NHWSS next year.
In the proposed 2023 National Budget, President Bongbong Marcos said that the NHWSS is one of his priority projects in strengthening the healthcare workforce. The program will get P16.9 billion to primarily cover the salaries of 26,035 21,547 healthcare workers.
In his 2023 President’s Budget Message, he said:
“To support our healthcare workforce and pursuant to the implementation of the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowance for Healthcare Workers Act (R.A. No. 11712), we have set aside Php 1.0 billion for the COVID-19 compensation package that will cover an estimated 65,293 healthcare workers and Php 19.0 billion for the public health emergency benefits and allowances of 526,727 healthcare workers. We have also allocated Php 16.9 billion to the National Health Workforce Support System (NHWSS) to cover the salaries and other benefits of 26,035 personnel. To invest in a new generation of healthcare workers, we shall also provide scholarships to aspiring medical and allied health professionals, especially those from the Indigenous Peoples (IP) groups, those residing in geographically isolated and depressed areas (GIDAs) or areas with IP communities, and those who belong to the low-income bracket.”
No specific details yet on the breakdown of cadres of health workers, and their corresponding salaries under the NHWSS.
About DOH NHWSS
The creation of NHWSS is mandated by the Republic Act (RA) No. 11223, otherwise known as Universal Health Care (UHC) Act
of 2019, which seeks to ensure that all Filipinos are guaranteed equitable access to a comprehensive set of quality and cost-effective promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health care services without causing financial hardship.
Under the Local Government Code, LGUs are mandated to be self-reliant and discharge all functions devolved to them including provision of health services and implementation of health programs. However, most LGUs are unable to achieve the recommended human resource for health (HRH) to support the mandates of UHC due to several factors including, but not limited to, geographical location, income class of the
municipality, existence of armed conflict, and certain provisions of national policies on personnel services limitation. Health workforce occupying permanent plantilla positions at the local level remains generally insufficient as evidenced by the number of doctorless municipalities (278 municipalities as of January 2019), and municipalities with HRH to population ratios below the National Objectives for Health (NOH) targets.
To support LGUs, the UHC Act mandates the creation of NHWSS which includes human resource management and development systems; salaries, benefits, and incentives; and occupational health and safety of deployed health care professionals or health care workers. In the interim, while LGUs are unable to hire the required health care professionals and health care workers based on standards, they shall be eligible to receive deployment augmentation from the NHWSS.
For this purpose, the DOH shall secure positions to hire and deploy health professionals and health workers under the NHWSS to promote equitable distribution of health workforce especially in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) and other marginalized, vulnerable populations of the country.
Implementation of National Health Workforce Support System
In the deployment of doctors, midwives, nurses and other health-related workers, the DOH shall give priority to the following: (i) 5th and 6th class municipalities; (ii) GIDAs; (iii) IP communities; (iv) where the absolute number of poor and the incidence of poverty are high as identified in the latest official poverty statistics of the PSA; and (v) municipalities unable to achieve Human Resources for Health standards, to include priority government health facilities.
Keep it here at Nurse Updates for more information on the 2023 DOH HRH Deployment under NWHSS, including hiring details, salaries, etc.