The Sotero del Río Hospital, located in the Metropolitan region, is in the eye of the hurricane after it was known that They eliminated 323 thousand consultations from waiting lists. For this reason, 11 hospitals will be investigated by the Comptroller’s Office.
The Puente Alto healthcare center is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office after June 7, 2023 250,543 interconsultations will be eliminated automaticallywhich continued to occur during the following days, reaching 323 thousand.
This situation caused the resignation of the hospital director, Dr. Luis Arteaga, in a case in which the Public Ministry will seek to establish whether the crime of influence peddling or even if there are other crimes.
The response of the Sotero del Río Hospital
From the hospital premises they argued that this action was carried out thinking that said care had been provided, or that the patient did not attend when appropriate, due to a typing error, or a duplication of interconsultations.
In addition to Sotero del Río, the Prosecutor’s Office would be investigating the Provincia Cordillera Hospital for the alleged elimination of some 8 thousand queries from their waiting lists, going from 13 thousand to 5 thousand, according to an investigation by T13.
Given these irregularities – or possible crimes -, the president of the Senate Health Commission, Juan Luis Castro, asked that similar events be investigated in regional hospitals. Giving way to the investigation that the Comptroller’s Office will carry out.
On this same basis, deputy Henry Leal instructed the Seremi de Salud of La Araucanía to provide the number of people who are waiting for surgical intervention in that region.
The 11 hospitals that will be investigated in the case of waiting lists:
1. Antofagasta Regional Hospital
2. Rancagua Regional Hospital
3. Regional Hospital of Talca
4. Temuco Regional Hospital
5. Gustavo Fricke Hospital in Viña del Mar
6. Carlos Van Buren Hospital in Valparaíso
7. Sótero del Río Hospital
8. San Borja Arriarán Clinical Hospital
9. Barros Luco Trudeau Hospital
10. CRS Hospital Provincia Cordillera
11. San José Hospital
Let us remember that in February the Ministry of Health was alerted to the irregularities in the capital hospital, moment when a summary was opened which gave way to the investigation hosted by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Now we have to wait and see what the Comptroller’s Office says about the other hospitals investigated and the status of their waiting lists.
