THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday asked medical professionals anew to become frontliners in the war against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as it said there are still over 2,637 job openings.
In April, 10,693 openings for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers were created under the emergency hiring program. As of September 12, the DOH said it has hired 8,056 healthcare workers.
Nurses account for the biggest number of hires by profession after 2,701 were hired under the emergency hiring program, followed by the 1,356 medical technologists.
The DOH also said about 43 percent of those hired were deployed to public hospitals under the health department while 17 percent were sent to laboratories or COVID-19 diagnostics facilities and 15 percent to temporary treatment and monitoring facilities.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the recent signing of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II) will allow the Department of Health to procure health equipment and provide better care for medical professionals.