Tap ‘underboard’ nurses to address shortage of health workers – Velasco

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Wednesday, May 5, disclosed that he will ask the Department of Health (DOH) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to allow “unregistered or so-called underboard” nursing graduates to complement the manpower needed to address the shortage of health workers in the country.

Velasco revealed in a radio interview that unregistered nurses can work under the supervision of registered nurses or doctors through a special arrangement with the PRC.

He pointed out that since nursing board examinations have been postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, those who were supposed to take the qualifier may be tapped as health workers.

“Aral na po ang mga ‘yan (They have completed their studies),” Velasco said, referring to expected takers of nursing licensure exam. “They are resources that we can actually use to help fight the pandemic.”

It was recalled that the PRC has decided to postpone this year’s first batch of the nursing board examination set for May 30 and 31 in response to a request of the Philippine Nurses Association.

The nationwide examination was rescheduled to November 21 and 22 this year.

DOH data show that as of April 25, a total of 17,365 health workers have been infected with COVID-19 – 195 of them are active cases. The health department said 88 health workers have died, while 17,082 have recovered during the same period.

The DOH said that the surge in COVID-19 cases among health workers corresponds with the overall surge in infections nationwide beginning March this year.

Meanwhile, Velasco assured the public that the government is doing all it can to quell the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

He appealed to the public to do their part in minimizing the spread of viral infection by strictly observing the health protocols imposed by government.

“Napapansin ko (I noticed) when I go around na there’s still a lot of people not following the protocols,” Velasco noted. “Meaning, ‘yung pinaka-basic man lang, ‘yung pagsuot natin ng face mask. (Meanwing, even the most basic which is the wearing of mask).

The House leader warned the public not to be complacent merely because of reports of a downward trend in the number of infected persons per day.

Velasco had earlier called on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to prioritize in the vaccine allocation the National Capital Region-Plus and other urban centers with high concentration of COVID-19 cases once all 1.7 million medical frontliners have been inoculated.

Velasco said that inundating these areas with vaccine would be strategic as the country proceeds with its inoculation program and waits for adequate supplies to arrive.

The government has assured that more COVID-19 vaccines will start arriving by June 2021.