Dear cruel hospital leaders,
Greetings and congratulations for winning the vote of President Aquino to veto the bill that aims to improve the quality of life of the severely injured nurses in your own country.
You have proven that your influence is stronger than our clamour for dignified work and pay. It goes without saying that, you don’t see us in the big picture yet; your vision is to have a world class hospital in the country- the biggest joke I’ve heard.
In that note, I can confidently say, that you are operating in a hallucinatory vision. I am speaking in behalf of all the nurses in the all the hospitals and community centers in the Philippines, whom you never treated with care, understanding and dignity, despite their sacrifice to boost the income and image of your hospitals.
Yes, it all boils down to income. But healthcare is not all about economics; it is about healing and caring for a patient. If we are paid per hour, based from the room rates, per rounds, maybe we will not ask for this salary increase.
Forgive me, I’m sorry, but I can’t understand your arguments. All I know is that, you are suppressing within yourself, the recognition that nurses can make a difference in your health institutions. Investing in nurses will not hurt you, if only you have the plan and the will to execute it. However, being compassionate to nurses has never been your defining attribute. However, despite of all your shortcomings, we are still proud to say, that we have a lot of compassion and empathy.
How can you enjoy living your daily life while seeing your nurses– hungry, fatigued, sick and thirsty for justice?
If you have considered us partners, you will not be the first to call the president to veto the bill. We never failed you, when your hospital is shaking, when your patient’s census is overflowing, we are the one who ensure that everything and everyone are being taken care of. When nurses create mistakes in the area because of fatigue, lack of motivation, lack of safe equipment and acceptable facilities, you never failed to put the blame on them.
Now that the bill is already dead, I hope that you are now happy or maybe you want to cut even our uniform or meal allowance just to suffice the needs of the institution.
Let us all be blunt and frank here.
Nurses deserve to be treated with respect. Before you ask to veto the bill, try to improve the hospital beds, try to provide foot stools, try to give us with working tables and chairs, (we envy your air-conditioned rooms), try to improve the oxygenation and room sanitation of the hospital, try to provide us with bins, that separate infectious from biodegradable and recyclables, try to improve our shifting, please hire more nurses, because we are not robots, we have our own family to care and love, and lastly, try to discipline some of your beloved healthcare providers, emphasize that nurses are professionals and not slaves, be considerate because the remuneration that we are receiving is not proportionate to the service we give.
But don’t worry; we will continue to give our best– to care, but not in this country, perhaps, because you don’t deserve good nurses here.
If you are brave enough, you should have championed the bill and find alternatives to meet the goals and needs.
Past is past, because of this you created division and severed ties with nurses in the healthcare industry.
We are always in your side, supporting your objectives, but now, thank you for showing us, who really the wolves are.
– Mutya
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