The Sultanate of Oman is in need of 350 health care workers, particularly nurses, the Philippine Overseas Employment Office (POLO) reported.

In a virtual forum late Friday afternoon, Labor Attaché Gregorio Abalos Jr. said the demand for Filipino workers in the health sector is due to the pandemic.

“There were two hospitals who visited our POLO, requesting for 350 nurses,” Abalos said, noting that the Apollo hospital needs 150 nurses while the Sultan Kabul Cancer Care hospital has requested 200 Filipino nurses.

He said they have told potential employers that Filipino medical workers are in demand.

“They (employers) have to make a good offer, otherwise the worker will be looking for higher offers in other countries,” he added.

Nurses in Oman earn a monthly salary of about 300 Omani rials (about PHP50,000), excluding accommodation expenses.

Abalos said his office has informed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) regarding Oman’s need for health care workers (HCWs) and requested an exemption from the deployment cap set by the Philippine government.

“We were told by the POEA that the clamor of Oman is still within the limit,” he said.

The government has implemented a deployment cap of 6,500 on the sending of HCWs to other nations to ensure that the country has a sufficient number of medical workers amid the pandemic.