The Juan María Salvatierra Hospital in La Paz is a Level 2 hospital. This means it is a general hospital that provides a wide range of services, including emergency care, specialist departments, and specialized imaging. Ok, great! But what about A.C.?
The hot season is just starting, and workers, patients, and family members of this hospital in La Paz are now calling on the relevant authorities to immediately fix the air conditioning inside the hospital, as the current high temperatures have made it unbearable to stay inside.
For several months, emergency and admissions workers have repeatedly requested that management repair the air conditioning units. The units have stopped working entirely and are part of their labor guarantees. This is also an intolerable situation for the patients who remain hospitalized.
“We find this inconsistent because Governor Víctor Castro said he is working to strengthen the health system, prioritizing decent, quality services for all people, especially those without access to health insurance. But in this case, we have been without air conditioning for a long time, and it is very hot,” commented a supply worker.
Nursing staff also complained about the failures in the water system. “They constantly fix it, and then it fails again, and now with the air conditioningproblem, the administrators of the hospital are not being responsive toward this situation.”
It is ironic, because just recently, the head of the State Health Ministryannounced that the “Safe Hospital” program was established, with the gradual implementation of measures in this sector, and that they are taking precautions to ensure medical units maintain their functioning in the face of the potential impact of meteorological phenomena.
Yikes! What if they weren’t? This is just unbelievable!