The virtual paralysis of the Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia Maternity Hospital, the leading women?s hospital in the country, which had supposedly reopened its doors, has provoked hordes of women looking to give birth in other hospitals around Santo Domingo. In view of the situation, the Luis Eduardo Aybar and the San Lorenzo de Los Mina hospitals are having to place up to three women to a bed. The crisis seemed to deepen yesterday as the Dominican Medical College decreed that the Moscoso Puello Hospital would only be open for critical cases and emergency room service. The Salvador B Gautier Hospital was also partially closed due to blackouts. At the Eduardo Aybar facility, the chief of obstetrics told reporters that three patients per bed was better than denying the women the necessary services. Hundreds of Dominican women limited to the public hospital system will face this situation today. According to Dr Romaan, their obstetrics ward has only 19 beds, while their caseload has increased by 50% in the last few days due to the near-total closure of La Altagracia. One night recently saw 52 births at the Aybar hospital. Over in Los Mina, the hospital director said that his caseload had increased by 35%.
In a related story that was buried deep within the state-intervened Listin Diario on page 12 (but was front-page news in Hoy), Public Health Minister Jose Rodriguez Soldevila, under heavy escort, visited the Francisco Moscoso Puello Hospital, where he tried to explain to the assembled reporters that everything was in order. Disgruntled doctors, however, popped out of their consults to yell ?charlatan? (big mouth) as the minister walked the hallways. Some patients escorted the official with chants of ?And out they go!? ? the political rallying cry of the PLD party, winners of the latest elections. Things nearly got out of hand when the minister interrupted a press conference where CMD president Waldo Arias Suero was announcing the partial closure of the hospital until the crisis is resolved. As the CMD president prepared to leave the hospital, he was accosted by some of the minister?s entourage, but quick action by patients and medical staff intervened to keep Dr Arias Suero safe. With the hospital director showing reporters storerooms with medicines and gauze pads, patients complained that they had to purchase syringes, medicines and pay for laboratory analyses.