EDITORIAL - Getting worse

The country has thousands of unemployed nurses, according to a recent report. Most of those nurses are hoping to join another 40,000 of their colleagues who have found jobs overseas. The Philippines has also lost about 6,000 doctors to other countries, according to the Department of Health, which is warning that if the exodus continues at current levels, the country may soon have to import health professionals.

The only thing that will prevent the importation is the meager budget for public health care, which prevents local health centers from hiring additional nurses and doctors. If the government cannot even hire local health professionals, can it afford to import workers? The insufficient budget also means the government cannot build enough health centers to keep up with the needs of a booming population.

The government and concerned groups have started honoring doctors who opt to work in the Philippines despite the lure of higher paying jobs overseas. The Outstanding Filipino Physicians program is commendable, but more must be done to stop the exodus of health professionals and meet the health care needs of millions of Filipinos.

As usual, the health crisis is felt most keenly by the poor. With the lack of health professionals forcing many private hospitals to shut down in recent years, the number of patients going to state-run health centers has gone up. A visit even to a barangay health center will show long lines of people waiting for medical attention. Even in prosperous cities, local governments are overwhelmed. A few months ago an outbreak of sepsis, attributed to the spread of infection in overcrowded hospitals, killed scores of infants in Metro Manila.

Nursing has lost its appeal for many citizens of affluent nations. But these countries can afford to hire foreigners to fill the nursing vacancies in hospitals. Developing countries do not have the resources to replace its lost health professionals.

A country like the Philippines that sends thousands of health professionals overseas every year should have no shortage of health workers. Instead the government is warning that the country may soon have to import health professionals — another indication of the worsening state of public health care.