Int'l Nurses Day: Better wages sought

A nurse’s group is calling attention to the worsening state of nurses, who are overworked and underpaid, as International Nurses Day is commemorated today.

- RHODINA VILLANUEVA

The Filipino Nurses United (FNU) said nurses in the Philippines continue to suffer from very low wages amid the increasing cost of living, including the rise in prices of basic commodities and services.

Eleanor Nolasco, FNU president, has said that aside from receiving a low salary, the 1:20 – or one nurse to 20 patients – ratio in the country persists.

“In other hospitals, understaffing is very much felt with the one (nurse) is to 30 or even 40 (patients) ratio, depending on the number of hospital personnel,” Nolasco said in an interview.

She added, “Because of the lack of nurses, they work for 16 hours instead of the usual eight hours.”