Amandala: Doctors at K.H.M.H. ready to protest

The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is once again under fire. In a front page article appearing in this week’s Amandala newspaper titled: “Public hospital doctors threaten to stop “non-essential services,” the newspaper quotes unnamed doctors as saying they are tired of practising under deplorable conditions. These include the unavailability of essential equipment and the resulting need to refer patients to private clinics for procedures like ultrasound exams, which are very costly. The unnamed source told the Amandala that if Health Minister Jose Coye does not meet a list of requests from doctors, they will stop all non-essential services, including outpatient clinics and elective surgeries. When News 5 contacted hospital C.E.O. Dr. Alvaro Rosado, he said he has not been informed of any contemplated or planned strike action at K.H.M.H. He explained that the hospital has for some time owned a brand new ultrasound machine and is expected to get another. Rosado said the reason for not using the machine is that their radiologist was away on studies to learn how to operate it, but has now returned. Meanwhile, in a release from the Government Press Office, Health Minister Coye says that on Monday morning he will hand over close to one million dollars worth of medical equipment to various health institutions in the country. Included in the set is an ultrasound machine, incubators, sterilisers and defibrillators, along with foetal and pulse monitors.