Hire nurses to accompany paramedics of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in city’s ambulances responding to emergencies in the city.
Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak said yesterday that the city should look at those attending to a patient in the ambulance and that they should be a licensed health care provider.
Tumulak’s gave his proposal amid the training of 18 EMS paramedics by the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (Eruf) paramedics.
Nagiel Bañacia, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) head, said that the training by Eruf personnel started two weeks ago.
On Tumulak’s suggestion, Bañacia said that he had no problem with that, but the suggestion had a downside.
“Kung nurses, that’s fine. Pero ing-ani lang kasagaran man gud ang nurses pagmakakuha na sila sa training, makakuha na silag enough knowledge, mang-abroad (Having nurses is fine, but once they receive the training, they usually go abroad),” Bañacia said.
He said that it is unfair for the city giving all those time and trainings for them, but in the end, they will likely work abroad.
He, however, said that this could be fixed by letting them sign an agreement for them to stay for at least two years after receiving the free training.
Bañacia also said that the city had 18 new ambulances, which were parked at General Services Office carpool area at the South Road Properties.
He said that the ambulances would be used to respond to any kind of emergencies in the city and to help decongest the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) of patients that could be treated at the barangay level.
“Kay as of the moment karun gamay-gamay nga reklamo, gamay-gamay nga emergency dalhon sa CCMC mao nang CCMC daghan kaayong problema. So unsaon man nato pag-decongest? (Because today, even with a small emergency, they will already bring the patient to the CCMC, which had become a problem. So how are we going to decongest the CCMC?)” he said.
He said that they were doing a pilot testing of the process in Barangay Mabolo where they upgraded the barangay health center and made another clinic for the barangay.
But they hit a snag because, he said, they now lack nurses and midwives to man the center.
On Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s recall order of barangay ambulances and the condition for the barangay personnel manning the ambulances to first be trained by Eruf paramedics, Bañacia said they had not yet trained any barangay personnel.
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