Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 25) — Vice President Leni Robredo has apologized for delays in responding to requests under her office’s recently launched free telemedicine consultation platform, citing the big volume of messages they receive daily.
Robredo on Sunday said the Bayanihan E-Konsulta project now has over 600 volunteer doctors and around 1,900 volunteer non-medical personnel, but the manpower is still not enough to swiftly accommodate all requests and concerns nationwide despite round-the-clock operations.
“Hindi namin inaasahan ‘yung tambak na narereceive namin na mga requests. Nag a-average kami by the thousands everyday,” she said in her weekly radio show BISErbisyong LENI.
[Translation: We did not expect the overwhelming number of requests we receive. On average, we get thousands everyday.]
Robredo also admitted the platform’s technology should still be improved and that they are facing difficulty fully automating operations.
“Kung meron pong mga ganyan, mas mabuting i-tag po ako either sa Twitter o Facebook para makita namin,” she said, referring to instances where those seeking consultation or assistance have been waiting a while for a response.
“Pero pasensya na po at hindi talaga perpekto ‘yung sistema. Meron talaga kaming mga nami-miss out, pero kami tina-try po namin na lahat mabalikan as soon as we can. Pero marami talaga ‘yung limitasyon namin,” Robredo added.
[Translation: If there are instances like that, it would be better if you could tag my account on Twitter or Facebook, so we can be notified you have a pending request. But I would like to apologize as our system is really not perfect. There are queries that we miss out, but we try to get back to them as soon as we can. Again, the system still has a lot of limitations.]
More than half of the messages they receive are regarding COVID-19, Robredo said. She added that more volunteer doctors are needed to provide the public more services at a shorter waiting period.
“Kasi may mga specializations na kailangan namin,” she said. “Halimbawa, kailangan namin ng mas maraming psychiatrists at mga psychologists, kasi ang problema pag mental health ang consultations no’n mahaba, so ang naseserbisyuhan namin in a day limitado lang talaga.”
[Translation: There are certain specialized doctors we need. For instance, we need more psychiatrists and psychologists because the challenge we’re facing is that consultations regarding mental health are usually long, so the number of people we’re able to accommodate in a day is limited.]
The Office of the Vice President is currently not accepting monetary donations for its Bayanihan E-Konsulta project, but Robredo said more supply of oxygen tanks is one of the most needed donations. Pulse oximeters and medicines for COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough and cold may also be donated, she added.
