Gov’t health workers not mandated to smile – DOH

While smiling can be good for the health, it is not mandatory for government health workers to smile all the time.

The Department of Health is not requiring doctors, nurses and other staff in public hospitals to smile to avoid misunderstanding, DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said yesterday. “The DOH has no order for public hospital staff to smile every time because doing so can also have negative effects,” Tayag explained. “Smiling is a sensitive matter, some patients may misinterpret it and think the hospital staff are making fun of them,” he added. Tayag made the statement in reaction to a complaint from a lawmaker that government doctors and other health workers are unfriendly to their patients. During a hearing on the DOH budget, one congressman questioned why nurses in public hospitals were unfriendly. Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial assured the lawmaker that she would look into such report. Tayag said those attending to outpatients should welcome and greet patients with a smile. But he said health workers could not be expected to be smiling all the time because it also requires effort and may be inappropriate in certain situations. “Smiling should be done at the right time and situation, a doctor or any other hospital staff can not do it when telling a patient he has cancer,” Tayag explained. “What is more important is to ensure that patients are given the immediate services they need,” he added. Tayag also assured the public the DOH would take appropriate action against any staff of government hospitals found to be disrespectful and violating the rights of patients.