Hoy newspaper reports on how the authorities apprehended a driver employed by the Dominican Institute of Social Security (IDSS) in La Romana, who disconnected and appropriated a kidney dialysis machine and was transporting it to an undisclosed destination. Dr. Juan Jose Santana said the theft was part of a plan to leave the public hospitals without equipment. Hoy comments that this would entail dire consequences, mentioning that the director of the IDSS, Dr. William Jana, has already said the public health system is in a state of emergency.
Hoy newspaper furthermore reports that all surgery at the 23 IDSS hospitals has been suspended. The medics are demanding payment of their May salary and that the hospitals be supplied with medicines that are lacking. The physicians also are calling for the removal of Dr. Jana from the IDSS helm. Dr. Jana has said there is no money to meet the demands being made. ?At the moment, the situation is critical for the entire system because of the high costs that the depreciation of the peso has generated. This is not a situation exclusive to the IDSS hospitals, but rather of all medical centers,? said Jana.