This morning, the son of one of our emergency patients messaged us to say thank you. “Kung di po dahil sa inyo, baka wala na po si nanay,” sabi niya. Magvo-volunteer rin daw siya for our initiatives once his mother has recovered, as a way of paying it forward.

It was a glimmer of hope in the midst of the whirlwind we are in. We are now on the 23rd day of Bayanihan E-Konsulta. Many long days and even longer nights marked by moments of suspense, relief, and at times, loss.

Many things are out of our hands, as we also count on other institutions to help the patients who come to us for assistance. Many frustrating moments that defined for me how the system is failing our kababayans. We wish it wasn’t this hard.

As of April 28, 26,567 requests have entered the Bayanihan E-Konsulta platform. But we found that a big part of this includes those that did not proceed with the process or submit info needed, or encountered glitches. This is why we continue to improve on our automated interface.

Of this number, 7,342 requests were completed, allowing us to process them for chat or teleconsults, as well as other services we are providing.

Iba’t iba ang kuwento na aming nakakasalamuha araw-araw. May isang beses na nag-overheat ang ambulansya namin na magdadala sa pasyente naming manganganak na. (Umabot naman siya at nakapanganak nang maayos.)

May mga naghihingalo kaming pasyente na nahirapan kaming mahanapan ng ospital. At may makailang beses din na para kaming nakikipagkarera sa oras, at kahit itodo ang ating last-ditch efforts, hindi na umaabot ang pasyente.

Pero marami na ring beses naming nakita kung gaano kalaking bagay ang tulong na ito para sa ating mga kababayan. Tulad na lang ng maraming COVID patients na nagpapagaling sa bahay, na nakatanggap ng care kits at minomonitor namin araw-araw.

It’s a source of relief for them, and for many other patients we’ve encountered, that medical professionals are there to help them make sense of what they are going through and how they should proceed.

I am grateful for the constellation of efforts that makes it possible for us to respond to many pressing needs despite our limitations.

Thank you very much to our volunteer doctors, who set aside time to lend their services for free, in between their own clinic hours or hospital duty. Of at least 642 doctors who signed up, 381 doctors (GPs and specialists) have already provided teleconsult for COVID patients.

We’ve also had 20 GPs and 140 specialists for non-COVID cases, and 12 mental health professionals. We are onboarding more every day.

Our operations would not have been possible, too, without the 748 external volunteers who already served under our teams. They are among nearly 2,000 volunteers who signed up to help. Our onboarding and orientation for more non-medical volunteers also happen every day.

Siyempre hindi rin matatawaran ang efforts ng aking mga kasama sa OVP. Nasa 98 members ng staff namin ang kasali sa day-to-day operations ng Bayanihan E-Konsulta. Proud ako na ang aming staff, walang inuurungan, handang matuto, mahuhusay, at higit sa lahat, may puso.

But as we strive to serve as much as we can every day, we are very much aware of our limitations, and know that our initiative is a temporary fix. That these problems will be dealt with more sustainably if our healthcare system is robust.

We are helping as much as we can, with the hope and aim that at some point, our hospitals, institutions, and frontliners can breathe a little better, making medical services easier to reach for those who may need them.