After the complaint entered in Comptroller for patients who were kept inside ambulances for 18 years at El Pino Hospital and Health Reference Center In the framework of the covid-19 pandemic, the agency established that the Undersecretary of Assistance Networks order the instruction of a disciplinary procedure to determine eventual administrative responsibilities.
The action was filed by the lawyer Luis Rendon, who accused the events that occurred on May 26 and 27, where patients, after spending several hours waiting for care, were referred to health facilities in Salvador and Sótero del Río.
The professional indicated in the complaint that the “situation described would be inextricable, since there would be a public-private network at the national level, including the hospitals of the Armed Forces and Carabineros de Chile that, in his opinion; would have the capacity to receive patients in the event of the collapse of specific units, all of which would reveal an unjustifiable lack of coordination, having existed for several months for the health services to prepare to meet in an integrated manner a demand that would increase explosively ”.
Hospital Response
Through an official letter, the director of the El Pino hospital and health referral center, Patricio Vera, acknowledged that both dates there was a great demand for care in the hospital emergency service, for patients with respiratory symptoms and the severity of many of those who were hospitalized during those days qualified them as not transferable ”.
Likewise, he assured that “despite the efforts made, which has resulted in a considerable increase in critical beds, some patients had to wait in ambulatory ones, and then go to the Emergency Service, where they were categorized according to severity, being returned to the emergency vehicles to await hospital care, since these mobiles had health personnel and such action allowed to keep the patient isolated, while steps were taken to generate care quotas ”.
In the office he specified that that day, the 40 emergency boxes were with hospitalized patients.
With the aforementioned antecedents and the recognition of the director of the healthcare facility, the Comptroller’s Office indicated that it corresponds that the Undersecretary of Assistance Networks order the instruction of a disciplinary procedure in order to determine the possible administrative responsibilities associated with the described circumstance, sending to this Regional Headquarters within 15 working days from receipt of this official letter, a copy of the administrative act that orders it and designates it as a prosecutor ”.
They also indicate that in response to the fact that various media have denounced the occurrence of similar situations that have occurred in other public health establishments, “the antecedents are sent to the Technical Unit for External Control of the First Metropolitan Regional Comptroller’s Office of Santiago, with the aim of that these are analyzed for their eventual incorporation into the audit planning process ”.
The lawyer pointed out that the comptroller body investigated and requested reports from the hospital and “today they let me know a letter through which, they order the Undersecretary of Healthcare Networks to initiate a summary regarding this and take steps so that it does not return to occur”.
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