Pinoy nurses in London hit by NHS budget cuts

by Rose Eclarinal, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
LONDON -  For the past weeks, locals and hospital staff across London have been protesting against the austerity measures of the National Health Service (NHS).
NHS cuts include closing selected A&E wards and acute services, downgrading of hospitals, redundancies and downgrading of salaries. In 2011, more than 30,000 NHS workers lost their jobs. 
"We're fighting this because we believe that there is money to be found to invest in local health service, so we don't have to suffer from these life threatening cuts," Carlo Nero, chair of Save Our Hospital Campaign, said. 
Because of the cuts, some Pinoy nurses are facing salary downgrade while others are forced to re-apply for their posts. 
"Sa unit namin kung sampu kaming band 6, dalawa lang ang kukunin or you will go through interview para ma -retain ninyo ang current position ninyo," said Bien del Mundo, an NHS nurse. 
"Kung mada-down grade ako, ang suweldo ko liliit. Maapektuhan ang family ko back home sa Pilipinas kasi ang ipapadala  namin liliit," said another NHS nurse Lester Najera.
It may seem that the salary downgrade is better than redundancies but they feel the cuts came at the worst possible time.
"So siyempre napakalaking impact yun financially para sa pamilya mo. Paano yun ilang taon ka  sa current position mo tapos  bababa pa ang suweldo mo.  Di na rin kami makaka -cope up sa daily needs namin," del Mundo said.
This year, the NHS is hit with the longest budget freeze penned in to last until 2015, which means frozen salaries for Pinoy nurses in the coming years.
"Di na nga tumaas ang suweldo mo, ang mga presyo ng bilihin is not going any lower, pataas ng pataas- everything, housing and all. Halos wala ng matira sa iyo," NHS nurse Donna Prima-Negrito said.
"Nakakabigla rin para sa min kasi sa hirap ng buhay ngayon," Edwin Rebenque, medical worker at NHS, said.
The flatlining UK economy is taking a toll on Pinoy nurses. But they want to remain optimistic and hope for growth and recovery of the economy. They believe any further drastic austerity measures in the health services will send them and the NHS in the emergency unit.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more