After the public statements made by the Governor Alberto Weretilenck, about the criminal complaint he filed against doctors from Roca and Regina for issuing “trick” certificates that were intended to obtain licenses that benefited State workers, the Secretary of Public Service, Tania Lastra, provided more details about the “alarming pattern in the issuance of medical certificates.”
“Exhaustive control is being developed over the attendance or non-attendance of public agents at their workplaces,” and that in the face of this control “We detected an alarming pattern,” Lastra said.
According to the official, They are “two doctors who top the ranking” those who would have issued hundreds of irregular certificates, which resulted in considerable economic damage to the State.
«A doctor, who is a pediatrician, certified 20 agents per day, serving agents from Chichinales, Catriel, Los Menucos and other locations in their office in Roca. “It was suspected that the same pediatrician saw so many people in a day and issued the certificate.”
«We are talking about more than 2,181 days of unjustified licenses“It’s only in the case of a doctor, which represents a million-dollar embezzlement,” added Lastra and emphasized the collaboration of the provincial Ministry of Health to investigate the license plates and credentials of the doctors involved.
He added that Roca’s doctor “had a variety of agents who came to look for certificates with licenses ranging from 2 days to 15 days or more.
In the case of the other doctor, named by the Province, the Secretary of Public Service assured that “It started by granting 30 days of leave, because they were psychiatric certificates.”
That is why There were raids on offices and private homes, where evidence relevant to the investigation was seized. “We are committed to reaching the ultimate legal and administrative consequences, including the possible revocation of registrations,” Lastra said.
Also brought peace of mind to the doctors who do their job and assured that “the professional who receives a patient in his office who arrives with symptoms, treats him and issues a certificate, does not have to be afraid. The same applies to the employee who needs to justify his absence due to some illness.
He clarified about these cases that “we are talking about employees constantly presenting certificates, who buy the certificates, do not attend the offices and send a WhatsApp message to the doctors who sell them. “We are going to go to the last consequences on them.”
On the other hand, Lastra confirmed that additional investigations are open about approximately 20 other doctors spread throughout the Province, “all suspected of participating in similar practices.”
