Doctors, nurses eye 'tele-konsulta', review of safety rules to protect frontliners vs COVID-19

Associations of doctors and nurses said Friday they were eyeing virtual consultations and a review of rules for using safety gear to stop the spread of COVID-19 among their ranks.

The "tele-konsulta" will reduce the number of patients that doctors have to interact with, said Philippine Medical Association president Dr. Jose Santiago.

The Philippine Nurses Association meanwhile will review how nurses are using personnel safety gear, which they have to remove and put on again every time they eat or go to the restroom, said the group's president Dr. Rosie De Leon.

Many nurses, she added, were "physically and mentally exhausted" and cannot take shorter hospital shifts due to the influx of patients.

Around 340 nurses have caught COVID-19, she said. Among doctors, the respiratory disease infected some 300 and 24 died during the crisis, said Santiago.

The figures are different from the tally of the health department, which said 1,062 medical workers had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including 422 doctors and 386 nurses.

Twenty-six health workers, including 19 doctors, have died, added the agency.

• Health workers in Philippines catching COVID-19 'worrisome': WHO official

DZMM, April 24, 2020