House approves bill penalizing hospitals collecting fees from nurses on training

HOSPITALS that collect fees from registered nurses who render free services for work experience may soon be slapped a penalty of P500,000.

The House Committee on Health approved House Bill 5445 or the Act prohibiting public and private hospitals from collecting fees from registered nurses who want to gain work experience.

Authored by Representatives Alfredo Marañon 3rd of Negros Occidental and Edgar San Luis of Laguna, the measure provides that violators will be meted a jail time of not less than six months but not more than one year and a fine ranging from P100,000 to P500,000.

If the offender is an association, the penalty will be imposed upon the owner and other persons responsible for the violation. An offender who is a foreigner, on the other hand, will be summarily deported after payment of fine and service of sentence and be barred permanently from entering the country.

“Many feel the practice [of collecting fees from registered nurses] exploits and takes advantage of the glut of newly-graduate nurses in the country and therefore must be prevented,” Rep. Sonny Angara, chairman of the House panel on Higher and Technical Education, said.

The measure defines nurse volunteers as registered nurses rendering free or unpaid services in hospitals, without employer-employee relationship and performing hospital duties with minimal supervision from regular staff nurses.

In addition to the penalties for the hospitals, any volunteer nurse who was required to pay by the hospital will be entitled to a refund of the full amount paid to the hospital plus interests of six percent annually until the said amount is fully paid.

The refund is on top of a salary equivalent to Salary Grade 11 which will be paid by the hospital for services rendered. –Llanesca T. Panti, Manila Times