Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 9) — The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) said 11 of the 22 doctors hired by the Department of Health (DOH) to augment its workforce simply did not renew their monthly contract, correcting its earlier statement that they resigned.
“That was initially what I was told,” PGH spokesperson Jonas del Rosario told CNN Philippines on Thursday, referring to the resignation. “Apparently they just decided not to renew.”
He said the doctors were temporarily employed by the DOH to work at the state-run facility, where they also undergo specialty training, but chose not to continue probably to focus on residency.
“Iba ang schedule ng residency training sa PGH eh [The schedule for residency training at PGH is different]. Maybe they are looking at other hospitals where they can look for their residency,” he said.
Del Rosario noted that all 22 doctors started working at different dates, but most of the 11 did not renew their contracts last week.
In an earlier interview with CNN Philippines, he said the PGH is facing manpower shortage amid a surge in COVID-19 patients. He said some nurses have also quit their jobs while others had to undergo quarantine because of exposure to infected individuals.
The hospital has already reached full capacity, with over 100 COVID-19 patients still waiting to be admitted.
