SAN Jose del Monte Rep. Florida “Ate Rida” Robes has called on her colleagues in the House of Representatives to look into the current situation of the nursing sector in the country.

In a privilege speech on Monday, Robes bared that the “nurse-to-patient” ratio in the country is one nurse for every hospital ward.

“’One is to ward’ – ito ang kalagayan ng nurse-to-patient ratio. Hindi na po ito biro. With this staffing ratio, is our healthcare system still safe?” Robes laments.

“I rise on a matter of privilege to bring before this August body the plight of our Filipino nurses; the need for safe and adequate staffing in our hospital; and the vital role of creating a positive practice environment for our nurses towards a quality-driven healthcare system for Filipinos,” said the lawmaker from the Lone District of San Jose del Monte City.

Robes noted that prevailing guidelines of the Department of Health is a 1:12 nurse-to-patient ratio.

However, a 2022 study conducted in the Philippine General Hospital revealed that the standard nurse-to-patient ratio in the general wards is 1:20.

The researchers attributed this high-volume ratio to inadequate staff and high patient workload.

“In some hospitals, one nurse attend to 20 to 50 patients per shift.

Hindi ito dapat ipagwalang bahala dahil ayon sa datos na aking nakalap safe nurse staffing saves lives. Bakit?” she asked.

For a country that prides itself as one of the world’s largest producers of nurses, the Philippines is faced with the paradox of having a surplus of nurses yet still never enough to sustain its much-needed army of nurses to man its healthcare system.

In her privilege speech, she said that during the COVID-19 pandemic “we have witnessed many hospitals in the country cut down on operations, not because of lack of facilities, but rather due to lack of healthcare workers.”

The problem even worsened when overseas recruitment of nurses became aggressive.

“May mga bansa na nag-iisponsor sa ating mga college students to take up nursing with an offer to migrate to and work in the sponsoring country. Ito ay patunay na maraming bansa ang nag-aagawan para sa mga Pinoy nurses.”

“Kung pababayaan natin itong magtuloy-tuloy, mayroon pa ba tayong sapat na bilang ng nurse upang pagsilbihan ang sambayanang Pilipino?

Overseas migration was not the only factor affecting deficient supply of nurses in the Philippines. The lack of stable jobs and dismal wages also plays a huge factor.”

On paper, an entry-level nurse in a public hospital is entitled to earn Salary Grade 15, which is roughly Php 33,575.00 (roughly US$ 670.00) per month. Pero sa realidad, they only earn around Php 22,000.00 per month with no benefits such as statutorily-mandated hazard pay. Ito ba ang sweldo na nakabubuhay ng isang pamillya?

A 2023 data from a nursing organization revealed that the highest paid nurses are in Europe, Australia and Canada.

“Sa Luxembourg ang nurse ay sumesweldo ng $96,000 (USD) kada taon; sa Denmark, $87,436 (USD); sa Australia, sa $73,000 (USD); sa Switzerland, $66,594 (USD); at sa Canada, $50,168. Ilan lamang ito sa halimbawa ng mga bansa na ang mga nurses ay may matataas na sweldo.

Hindi naman po natin kayang pigilan ang mga nurses na maghangad ng mas magandang trabaho na may mas mataas na sahod at benipisyo upang itaas ang antas ng kanilang kabuhayan. We cannot stop them from leaving but we can give them enough reasons to stay.

Robes called on Congress to look into the plight of Filipino nurses whom she called the “unsung heroes of our healthcare system.”

“Let us create a positive practice environment for them that would encourage them to stay in our country and use their world-class talents and skills to serve our people. Let us stop the brain drain of quality Filipino nurses by providing them decent work and improving their pay,” Robes told her colleagues.

Data culled from the Nursing Administration Quarterly, showed that increased nurse staffing is a more cost-effective tactic to improve patient care when compared to other interventions. Safe nurse staffing reduces turnover in hospitals. When ratios are blown out of proportion, there is an increase in nursing turnover and a decrease in patient satisfaction. All of this increases the cost of care.

She posited that safer nurse-patient ratio would be beneficial for the health of all Filipinos because it will: reduce medication errors, patient mortality, hospital admissions; enhance patient satisfaction; and prevent nurse fatigue.

“I stand here today with a dream to make healthcare accessible and affordable to every Filipino – where safe nursing staff ratio will replace the “one-is-to-ward system”, and where the best and the brightest nurses will choose to stay and love the Philippines,” Robes said.

“We realize this dream by starting first with caring for the careers.

Nurses take care of us, but who will take care of them? The responsibility belongs to us,” she said.