Authorities of the Puntarenas Hospital investigate ambulance staff for dumping a patient in the emergency room corridor

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Authorities of the Monsignor Sanabria hospital* in the province of Puntarenas complain about the attitude of a private ambulance staff member who dumped a patient on the floor of the corridor of the emergency room on Friday.

Authorities did not provide the name of the private ambulance service.

According to Dr. Randall Álvarez-Juarez, director of the hospital, Friday at 1:38 p.m. the private ambulance staff took a patient from the Barranca clinic* and dumped him in the hallway near the hospital's emergency room.

Faced with an unusual situation, the authorities are analyzing the possibility of taking lawful action against the private ambulance service.

"In the Monsignor Sanabria Hospital we have the video where you can see what happened and it will be a piece of evidence in case when we decide to file a legal complaint," said the hospital authorities in its statement.

Dr. Randall Álvarez said the complaint would also be referred to the authorities of the Social Security clinic in the community of Barranca because the ambulance service was hired by those in charge of that clinic.

The patient is currently in the hospital observation service. "The treatment was given after security, medical, and nursing personnel lifted them from the ground," said the hospital authorities its statement.

According to the most recent Social Security report, during the days of the strike, from Monday to Friday last week, 149,333 medical appointments were scheduled, of those, 57.536 were canceled.

Friday at noon, 8,865 employees had been reported on strike. Among those, most are nurses and general service staff such as cooks, laundries, and cleaning services, among others.

As A.M. Costa Rica previously reported on Friday, the Social Security authorities confirmed that a complaint was filed at the Public Ministry this week, of a possible case of negligence that may have caused the death of a patient.

According to the complaint, a patient surnamed Castro-Calvo went to the Public Hospital in Alajuela* to be treated in the emergency room. In the hospital, a doctor checked the patient over and considered his health problem not to be a serious one. The patient was then referred to a local clinic, known as Ebais.

The patient died hours later without receiving medical treatment.

According to the Social Security authorities, the case is being investigated. Because there is also a complaint in the Public Ministry, no further information can be given in this case, until the investigation is resolved.

Social Security Union, known as Undeca, has been on strike from Monday of last week. They are expected to announce this morning if the strike will continue.

In a press conference, the president of Social Security Román Macaya-Hayes said one of the reasons union members went on strike is due to false news that the institution would be privatized in the near future. "Nobody is privatizing Social Security," he said.

Another false statement, according to Macaya-Hayes, is regarding changes in the form of salary payment to employees. "The form of salary payment has not changed," he said.

According to the union, they are protesting mainly against bill No. 21.097, which seeks to establish a list of essential public services, including medical services, in which employees' right to strike may be limited or restricted.

They are also protesting against "the government, political parties, and deputies that have been promoting the privatization of the Social Security, due to business interests," said union in its statement.

According to the union's statement, the political parties approved the Law to Strengthen Public Finances, which intends to be applied to Social Security. That will leave the decision to the Minister of Finance to manage the institution's budget to pay for health services, medicines, and the construction of new care centers, among others.

Unions are also protesting about the General Concessions Law "that allows privatization in the administration of health centers," they said in their statement.

On August 5th, Social Security authorities requested the Labor Court to declare the strike illegal.

Due to the strike, only Emergency rooms are working as usual.

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Should health care workers be required to provide healthcare in spite of the strike? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

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