Senator JV Ejercito called on the government to consider the deployment of Filipino registered nurses in every barangay in the country as part of his unrelenting efforts to address the health problems even in the grass roots level.
Ejercito, who is the current chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, underscored the need of having a nurse in all the barangay health centers across the country where they could ensure the well-being of the people through preventive approach.
Ejercito added that this scheme could also help in addressing the unemployment and under employment among Filipino nurses.
Albeit the demand in foreign countries, recent records from the Professional Regulation Commission show that there are still at least 300,000 unemployed nurses in the country.
“The deployment of our competent nurses in the barangay could significantly improve the quality of health services for our people. They are badly needed especially in the far-flung provinces in the country,” Ejercito said.
Ejercito is the author of the Universal Health Care program that seeks the delivery of quality, accessible and affordable health services for all Filipinos.
“We see this as an effective support to our efforts to provide all the needed medical services to our people,” Ejercito noted.
“Our nurses could provide the immediate medical needs of the community as well as prevent illnesses and various ailments,” he further explained.
Nurses who will be deployed in the barangay health centers could conduct an extensive information dissemination campaign with the help of the barangay staff to educate the people on the importance of being healthy, hygiene and sanitation.
The medical practitioners must also assess the present health status of the residents in the locality of their jurisdiction to properly coordinate with the Department of Health who would then provide the required health care and medication.