Ministry of Health Urges Public to Donate Blood & Reschedules Appointments

The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reiterated the solidarity call to the population to go to blood donation centers throughout the country to keep reserves supplied.

“We have a shortage of heme components at the Hospital del Niño, Hospital Santo Tomás, at the Nicolás Solano in Panamá Oeste and at the Anita Moreno Hospital in Los Santos for patients of the Oncology Network, so we urge all those donors to “They usually do it, to come and donate their blood,” reiterated the national director of Health Services Provision of the Minsa, Ivonne Villareal.

The requirements are known in advance by the donors, such as: adequate hemoglobin; be between 18 and 65 years old; weigh more than 120 pounds; enjoy good health in general and minors under 17 years of age can donate with the consent of their parents or legal guardians and the donor, at the time of attending the facility, must have had a proper breakfast.

· Appointment rescheduling

Given the announcement made by the members of the National Negotiating Medical Commission (Comenenal), to suspend the medical strike starting this Monday the 13th, Villareal explained that the next thing is for all general practitioners and specialists to resume their outpatient consultations and added that Each health facility will be rescheduling their appointments this week.

“We will be monitoring all the hospitals and knowing what each one’s plan will be, to recover those lost appointments and also, the logistics that each health facility will follow will be informed,” he added.

· Supply of medicines and supplies

With the opening that took place, this Monday the 13th from 6:00 am on the Inter-American highway, especially in the critical points of Veraguas, Ngäbe Buglé region, Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, trucks are being transported with medicines and daily supplies .

The situation in the province of Panama has improved, which has allowed each Health facility to have personnel on site and to care for patients who approach a Health facility.

The balance of lost appointments, to date, is 21,606 lost appointments, but 132,234 appointments have been recovered in the different Health facilities, during the first three weeks of protests.