President calms physicians after penal reform

Although warned he never make decisions under pressure, the President sent a message of reassurance to the nation’s physicians, and the professional unions described it as a “reasonable” position to show willingness on stem the Code of Criminal Integral ( COIP ) -in Assembly debate- on the definition of manslaughter professional malpractice.

However, Carlos Figueroa, a general secretary of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation, said the arrangement announced by doctors to resign en masse is maintained and this will remain unchanged, if the rule takes effect.

Doctors from te Eugenio Espejo Hospital released a statement in which they announced that they will join the their colleagues proposed from Pablo Arturo Suarez Hospital.

The President of the Medical Association of Guayas, Fausto Padilla, on behalf of his colleagues, also requested not to approve the articles that criminalize medical malpractice. “We are not murderers, but some cases occur for situations that are out of our hands,” he said. “We will not submit resignations, because it still has not approved anything, but we will keep our eyes on it,” said Padilla.

The President said it is a shame that doctors want to resign, but no one will stop them, and if this happens, he will apply an emergency program and bring doctors from overseas, at the same time he asked Doctors to think about it, and clarified that nothing happens yet to the Crimina