Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas says that the government will begin to gradually habilitate hospitals in the Ciudad Sanitaria Luis Aybar, a mega hospital complex built by the Medina administration. He said the hospital has several intensive care units and ventilators that can be used for Covid-19 patients. The public health minister did not specify which and when these will be available to service patients. The National District, where the hospital is located, has 51% of the Covid-19 cases in the country.
He made the remark after investigative journalist Edith Febles had asked the minister during the Bulletin No. 12 coronavirus briefing what was the status of the health city. She recalled that the President had announced in his 27 February address that the Ciudad Sanitaria Luis Aybar would be inaugurated on 10 March. The announcement was followed by government propaganda on 28 February advertising that the Luis Eduardo Aybar Health City is made up of 12 hospital buildings with 55 surgery halls and more than 600 beds. Febles asked if that center was supposedly ready for 10 March, why was the government announcing it would rent private clinics to service patients with Covid-19?
In the same speech, Medina had boasted that Dominicans could go to any of the 86 new hospitals or diagnostics centers that “had nothing to envy of a private medical center.” The President also mentioned the Engombe public hospital in Santo Domingo West and the Vinicio Calventi in Los Alcarrizos and the Boca Chica public hospital. Recently, the Public Health Minister confirmed the navy base was being conditioned as an isolation center for Covid-19 patients in Boca Chica, but did not mention whether the renovated Boca Chica public hospital mentioned by the President Medina in his 27 February speech would open in time to serve the new demand for medical care.
Medina said in the 27 February speech that the José María Cabral y Báez Regional Hospital and the Arturo Grullón Hospital in Santiago would be ready before his term ends on 16 August. In Santiago, the government recently announced it would rent the Clinica Las Colinas to serve Covid-19 patients.
In his 27 February address, Medina also mentioned the San Francisco de Macorís Regional Hospital. In recent briefings, this hospital has not been mentioned by Public Health Minister Sánchez Cárdenas, who instead said the government was preparing the San Vicente de Paul public hospital. An investigative report by Alicia Ortega aired on 30 March showed that despite the optimism of the Public Health Minister, San Vicente de Paul hospital is not showing readiness to receive patients in need of intensive care.
Other new and renovated hospitals that would have been inaugurated before 16 August 2020, according to the President, are the Jaime Mota in Barahona, the Eduardo Musa in San Pedro de Macorís, the El Seibo public hospital, the Las Terrenas public hospital in Samaná, the Villa Hermosa public hospital in La Romana, the public hospital in Bonao and the public hospital in Neyba.
Economist Henri Hebrard had pointed out in a talk during the SaludHable initiative by the Association of Representatives of Pharmaceuticals (ARAPF) in December 2019 that the government had invested only 1.69% of GDP in the health sector. He said the National Development Strategy Law (End-2013) stipulated that the government invest 3.75% by 2019.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Presidencia
Argentarium
1 April 2020