Doctors denounce lack of equipment in health centers

Doctors will give the Government a two-month deadline to equip the health centers or they will consider a mass resignation. They said will no longer cover up the deficits.

Carlos Figueroa, Secretary of the Ecuadorian medical Federation (FME), tells the case of the Espejo Hospital, which does not have peritonial ventricular shunt catheters and should adapt a probe, from the stomach, to put it on the head”.

Yesterday, representatives of the Guild met for about two hours in the Pablo Arturo Suárez  hospital of Quito to analyze other alternatives to the resignation.

Juan Barriga, medical orthopedic surgeon of the hospital, also said that they will refer to the article 103 of the Constitution to require the regulations to be reformed. “The Constitution provides that 60,000 signatures are needed to try to modify a regulation, I remind you that in the medical Guild we are 90,000”.

Víctor Álvarez, President of the medical school of Quito, said that they could also order a series of tests that, apparently, the patient don’t need, to cover themselves.

Alberto Narváez, President of the FME, said that the “lack of sensitivity of the President” will result in the refusal of doctors to perform  dangerous interventions. “We must remember that 70% of the deaths or injuries that occur are due to the lack of resources and not for medical errors.”