Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Julio Vargas, head of Peru's Medical Federation announced Tuesday afternoon that it was likely for doctors to come to an agreement with the Minister of Finance, Luis Valdivieso and Cabinet Chief Jorge del Castillo in a meeting tonight.

"We continue to negotiate directly with the Premier and the Minister of Finance, we still haven't finished discussing the two proposals we made yesterday," said Vargas without giving further details.

Negotiations picked up once again on Monday, exactly one week after the strike had begun and after doctors affirmed they would not deal with the country's health minister, stating he was an obstacle and was set on defaming doctors.

Furthermore, doctors had threatened to abandon hospitals and patients if the government did not speak to them.

While the Premier had affirmed that he would not deal with doctors while on strike, he affirmed that they had not completely abandoned their posts and were seeing emergency patients.

Peru's Medical Federation presented on Monday a list of fifteen issues it is demanding that the state solve immediately.

Among those demands are payments of bonuses to doctors in provinces, an increase in salaries and the publication of a list of doctors not on payroll.

According to Vargas, the minister of finance is to present several proposals on Tuesday evening at a meting to be held at the office of the council of ministers.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Peru's health ministry immediately responded Friday evening after doctors on strike threatened to turn over three state hospitals if the government did not solve their problems.

In response, the ministry of health explained this scenario did not exist because doctors could not hand over what was not theirs.

In a press release issued by the country's ministry of health (MINSA), it was clarified that doctors did not own the hospitals and that they were state property.

Furthermore, MINSA affirmed that the doctors were public servants hired by the state.

Doctors would not be turning over the hospital but would be abandoning their patients and resigning from their positions, an act which was punishable by law, said the official statement.

In a press conference on Friday, the head of the Peruvian Medical Federation, announced that Las Mercedes Hospital in Chiclayo, Cusco Regional Hospital and a hospital in Lima would be turned over to the government if agreements were not made.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

With state doctors going on their fifth day of strike and social security professionals going on their third, fewer patients are seen at hospitals with the hopes of being assisted.

According to Peru's Ministry of Health, the number of patients going to hospitals for consultations has decreased 20 percent, demonstrating that citizens believe they will not be helped by doctors because of the strike.

Félix Ortega, head of work relations for EsSalud, affirmed that while he did not have specific figures, it was obvious that less patients were going to hospitals.

It was reported that the number of patients that usually go to Grau Hospital decreased 70 percent. While there were appointments for 1,200 people on Thursday, only 360 showed up for consultations.

This was also the case at Dos de Mayo Hospital, where the average number of patients that are seen is approximately 1,500.

300 arrived on Thursday.

There is not a forecast for a solution to these strikes, said local news, explaining that state-run EsSalud was posting on Friday a list of the doctors it would be firing for not going to work.

While weighing the effects of the strike at a hospital in Comas, Peru's Health Minister Hernán Garrido Lecca announced that doctors would begin receiving walking papers on Friday.

Even though doctors have threatened to release all patients and hand over empty hospitals to the state, Julio Vargas, head of the Peruvian Medical Federation has stated he wishes to meet with Cabinet Chief Jorge del Castillo and Finance Minister Luis Valdivieso.

Del Castillo has assured he will meet with representatives after doctors end the strike.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Peru's Minister of Economy and Finance, Luis Valdivieso, confirmed on Tuesday evening that it would be impossible to grant the Peruvian Medical Federation's requests to raise doctors' salaries.

Valdivieso explained it would require at least 300 million soles to meet this demand and assured the government did not have the funds.

"The demand put forth by doctors is 300 million soles, approximately $100 million. With $200 million I could raise the wages of the entire public sector," said the head of the Economy and Finance Ministry.

Stating that an entire remunerative structure had to be changed, Minister Valdivieso explained raising wages would be a gradual process.

"We need time," said Valdivieso, explaining the ministry had told doctors they would analyze the situation.

"I know there is a need for things to come out as soon as possible. We are evaluating how that can be done, but at this time it is impossible to meet that demand 100 percent."

Casualties

While the strike began on Monday and it has been reported that the majority of doctors are remaining at their posts, patients are beginning to blame medical staff for deaths.

Doctors were blamed for the death of Jorge Chavez, a 68-year-old man that jumped from one of the top floors at Rebagliati Hospital in Lima.

Witnesses claim Chavez committed suicide after being ignored by doctors.

The family of Audencio Navarro Vásquez, a 26-year-old man that had been admitted to Las Mercedes Hospital in the province of Chiclayo, say he died after seeking doctor's help and being ignored.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

President Alan Garcia and Cabinet Chief Jorge del Castillo should evaluate whether Hernán Garrido Lecca (right) should continue to work as the minister of health, said Julio Castro, head of Peru's College of Medicine.

Castro affirmed that Garrido Lecca was an obstacle and made it more difficult for the health sector to come to an agreement with the government.

"The government should take into consideration that doctors have a strong conviction that what is getting in the way of coming to an agreement is the presence of the minister of health," said Julio Castro, affirming that many congressional representatives felt the same way.

Removing the health minister from his position will make it more likely for the strike to come to an end, argues Castro.

When asked about the comments made by President Garcia on Monday, the head of the College of Medicine stated his remarks had been important and that they would help in ending false information being spread by Garrido Lecca.

According to Castro, the minister of health has begun a campaign to defame doctors and the Medical Federation.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

After months of negotiations with Peru's government, the Peruvian Medical Federation was unable to come to an agreement with authorities and began its national strike on Monday morning.

As in previous strikes, the majority of the doctors that participated were union members and patients were not left unattended, reported La República newspaper.

While the head of the federation, Julio Vargas affirmed during a march on Monday afternoon that 95 percent of the doctors in Lima and 100 percent of doctors in Peru's provinces had taken part in the strike, the country's Minister of Health, Hernán Garrido Lecca assured that the majority of the country's doctors were working.

During the inauguration of a new tomograph at the National Institute of Neurological Sciences, the health minister explained that 100 percent of the country's doctors were working in emergency rooms and that 70 percent had gone to work as usual.

Eliana Revollar, head of Peru's human rights institution confirmed Garrido Lecca's statements saying 100 percent of the country's doctors had assisted in emergencies.

Revollar explained that the majority of doctors marched and protested but never left their posts.

On the other hand, in the case of routine doctor appointments, it was reported that all doctors had closed their offices and were not seeing day-to-day patients.

This was the case of hospitals such as Maternidad de Lima and Cayetano Heredia.

In statements Monday evening, President Alan Garcia stated he had great respect for the country's doctors, explaining many demands such as an increase in wages could not be met because of a limit in the country's budget.

He asked doctors not to insult the minister of health and work on finding a solution to their issues.

"The minister (Garrido Lecca) has to be careful when talking about doctors," said Luis Wilson, the head of the congressional health commission, explaining it was important to speak of the profession with great respect.

Doctors have affirmed the government is willing to speak to them but not willing to budge from its position and provide them better salaries and work conditions.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

When attempting to collect the necessary blood Peru's patients may need for transfusions or operations, the ministry of health is faced with two major problems: a tremendous lack of donors as well as a large number of blood banks.

While campaigns are being organized to educate and inform Peruvians on the importance of donating blood, there is still the problem of a numerous quantity of blood banks across the country.

The high number of blood banks in Peru makes it difficult to control the supply being used, said the health ministry, explaining it was also difficult to make sure the necessary safety precautions were being taken.

In an attempt to deal with the latter of the two problems, the health ministry is to present a project to create a national blood bank with a network of regional branches.

It is hoped that this will ensure the quality of the blood available in the Andean country.

"There are 269 (blood banks) and each one has their own reagents and supplies," said Dr. Norberto Quezada, coordinator for the national hemotherapy program, explaining there was not a standard for screening blood.

Quezada stated that because Lima consumed 70 percent of the blood, a main bank would be established in the country's capital and branches would be set up in Peru's regions.

To further promote the idea of donating blood among Peruvians, Quezada confirmed that three buses would be traveling across the country in search of voluntary blood donors.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Even though the country's health ministry warned them the measure had been declared an illegal one, representatives of the Medical Federation of Peru began an indefinite strike early Monday morning.

With signs and banners in hand, doctors began a march led by Julio Vargas, president of the federation, outside Arzobispo Loayza Hospital.

While Vargas affirmed doctors were willing to negotiate their demands with the government, he affirmed the strike would continue until solutions were provided for their demands.

The head of the medical federation clarified that even though doctors were on strike, emergency rooms and intensive care units would not be abandoned.

"Additionally, we will establish areas where patients that have emergencies can be helped," said Vargas.

The resignation of the country's Minister of Health, Hernán Garrido Lecca, is among the requests being made by the Medical Federation of Peru and the country's Medical College.

Other demands include higher wages, the payment of bonuses and care for retired doctors.

While doctors intended for the strike to be a national one, local media has reported that the majority of state-run hospitals are operating as usual.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

People in Peru are not voluntarily donating as much blood as in other countries, affirmed the country's ministry of health, explaining there were less than 10,000 donors in the country when 100,000 were needed.

According to the Andean nation's national blood bank, voluntary donations only make up 5 percent of the entire country's donations.

Peruvian blood donation statistics are very low when compared to countries such as Brazil and Colombia, reported El Comercio newspaper, affirming that 50 percent of these countries donations were voluntary.

"One unit of blood can help up to three people," said Dr. Norberto Quezada, head of Peru's national hemotherapy program.

"It's imperative that we create voluntary blood donating habits."

Luis Mircin, head of the blood bank at the National Children's Health Institute stated that the problem was caused because Peruvians are not educated on blood donation when they are young.

"It's a national problem because we are not used to voluntarily donating like in other countries. There is a lack of constant information that will awake people's interest," Mircin said.

According to Dr. Carmen Torres, only 311,550 units of blood are donated every year. "Yearly demand is currently at 798,414 units," said Torres.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Alcoholism and drug addiction are Peru's main mental health problems, affirmed Rafael Navarro Cueva, head of the rehabilitation center at Hermilio Valdizán Hospital.

Of the two issues in Peru, the doctor affirmed that alcoholism was a greater problem than drug abuse.

Navarro explained that even though Peru had 1.3 million registered alcoholics, it was possible that there were up to 2 million in the country.

He affirmed that the majority of people that suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction were among Peru's upper and middle classes.

Alcoholism and drug abuse were not the only issues Navarro said were negatively affecting the country.

Navarro, the former head of the Peruvian Psychiatric Association and the Latin American Psychiatric Association added there was more corruption in Peru and that people's morals and values were decreasing.

According to Navarro, this problem could only begin to be solved if the government was willing to invest large sums of money in educating the country's people and providing them with adequate health care.