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On legal
holidays, Thursday and
Good Friday, clinics and
administrative offices
will be closed.
/ Social
Security courtesy photo |
The Social Security clinics
will be
closed on Thursday and Good
Friday
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
The Social Security clinics in
the country will maintain the
normal schedule during Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday of the
Holy Week
Patients with consultations,
procedures, and surgeries
scheduled during these three
days should arrive promptly
because the clinics will
function normally throughout the
national territory.
All financial and administrative
services of Social Security will
also be offered normally before
Thursday.
On legal holidays, Thursday and
Good Friday, clinics and
administrative offices will be
closed.
However, emergency rooms in all
hospitals in the country will
continue to treat patients every
day, during 24 hours a day,
including Thursday and Good
Friday.
Social Security has published
the contact information of all
hospitals in the country on its
website. If any person has an
emergency during the holiday,
any of the emergency rooms on
the hospital list can be reached
at the following link www.ccss.sa.cr
Related to public medical
services, as A.M. Costa Rica
reported on April 2nd, the
Constitutional Court Chamber has
ordered Social Security to
design, in a maximum of six
months, an integrated management
system to reduce the
"disproportionate and
unreasonable deadlines that the
patient should expect to receive
care in hospitals," said the
ruling. The problem is one that
represents a systematic and
repeated violation of the right
to health.
Judges ordered the system in
response to an appeal by a
senior citizen filed on
September 13, 2018.
The citizen said that she
required surgery at the San
Rafael Hospital in the province
of Alajuela, but that she was
not informed of a specific date
for the operation and she was
placed on the waiting list. For
this reason, the woman appealed
to the Constitutional Court
alleging that her right to
health was violated by the
medical center.
The Constitutional Court
concluded that the problem in
terms of excessive waiting lists
is a constant in Social
Security. "These actions in the
provision of public service
violate the right to health, as
a fundamental right autonomous
and violate the constitutional
principles of public service,"
said the resolution in its
statement.
In the next six months, Social
Security must define reasonable
waiting times for treatments, as
well as objective criteria to
specify the location of a
patient on waiting lists.
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It was
also required to
set a schedule
of actions to
meet the goals.
Within the plan,
Social Security
should propose
solutions to the
shortcomings and
problems
recognized by
the institution
itself: lack of
adequate
infrastructure,
lack of
specialized
doctors,
equipment needs,
and the
absenteeism of
patients to
appointments in
various medical
centers, among
others.
In order to
follow up on
compliance with
this ruling, the
Constitutional
Chamber set a
public and oral
hearing for 9
a.m. on November
14 this year in
the Supreme
Court of
Justice. On that
day, the
authorities of
Social Security
must present the
advances and
actions
developed.
In addition to
the ruling, it
was urged that
Catalina Crespo-
Sancho, in her
capacity as
Ombudsman,
assist in the
follow-up of the
execution of
this resolution.
The ruling
includes:
- Social
Security must
attend waiting
lists.
- Define
reasonable
waiting periods
by pathology or
related
diagnostic
groups according
to the
symptomatology,
the level of
urgency and the
patient's
conditions.
- Determine the
objective
criteria to set
a patient on the
waiting lists.
- Set a progress
schedule.
- Take into
account such
special groups
as older adults,
with people with
disabilities,
and minors.
- Respect the
constitutional
principles in
public service
of efficiency
and
effectiveness.
According to the
statistics of
the
Constitutional
Court, in 2018
there were
registered 7,037
claims against
Social Security
for violating
the right to
health.
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Have
you had to wait
to be treated at
Social Security?
We would like to
know your
thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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