The opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia promised this Tuesday to work for recover the health system in Venezuelaarriving at the Miraflores Palace.
The country has been immersed in a political, economic and social crisis for years, which did not take long to reach the hospital sector, where nearly 70% of the centers faces a shortage of basic services and critical supplies for patient care. In addition, the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security, to which a network of public health centers is attached, has been in “technical bankruptcy” for more than 15 years, which worsens the scenario.
Several NGOs and national institutions have warned that the current situation violates the rights of society since “there is no guarantee” of being able to access medical care.
That is why González Urrutia said in the last few hours that it is crucial to adopt concrete and urgent policies to reverse this situation.
“We are willing to give everyone access to health but for this we must seek international alliancesto obtain the necessary resources that can “start up the deteriorated sector”he said before a group of union leaders and staff who participated in a public event, although he did not provide details of what this initiative would be like, who would be part of it, or even if it is already being negotiated.
At the same time, he mentioned that another of the fundamental aspects to be addressed to get out of this “almost debacle” is the low salaries of these professionals, which led to the 30% of them “is found outside the border of Venezuela.”
“These qualified personnel have to return to us and put themselves at the service of health recovery,” he added in this regard while highlighting that, despite being “a complex issue,” it is about a “state obligation” and, therefore, it will comply with the Constitution and “promote and develop policies aimed at raising the quality of life, collective well-being and access to services.”
“Without supplieswithout decent wagesWithout medical equipment it is impossible for you to carry out the work for which you have been trained, which is to save lives. That is a key element that we are going to try to resolve starting July 28, when we achieve the change that Venezuela needs.”, he concluded with hope.
A report from the NGO Doctors for Health from October 2023 stated that the 70% of hospitals in Venezuela presented failures in the drinking water supplywhich “affects the hygiene of the hospital and greatly limits the care capacity (as it is) necessary to carry out certain treatments and medical procedures.”
Meanwhile, a National Hospital Survey of the same year indicated that the 54% of these establishments also suffered interruptions in the electric service -in some cases more than three times a week-, something that puts at great risk “patients connected to respiratory assistance, those who must be transferred to operating rooms by elevator” or, even, those who are “in the middle of surgeries” during blackouts.
It also reaches patients on call, for example, since “no type of study or examination can be performed” during this period.
(With information from EFE)
