Santo Domingo.– The Dominican Medical Association (CMD) announced a 24-hour national strike for next Tuesday, July 7, in rejection of the arrest of two doctors by the La Vega Prosecutor’s Office, accused of alleged medical malpractice. The union described the Public Ministry’s actions as a “judicial abuse” and warned about the implications that the new Penal Code would have for the practice of medicine.
The president of the CMD, Luis Alberto Peña Núñez, maintained that the arrest of the doctors took place without the corresponding technical procedures being exhausted. “The use of arrest as an immediate measure, without exhausting due process and the corresponding technical expert investigation, constitutes an affront to the practice of medicine in the country,” he stated during a press conference.
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The leader reported that the day of protest will begin at 8:00 in the morning and that, during that period, services will only be guaranteed in the emergency areas, hospitalized patients, and critical care units.
Peña Núñez also warned that this type of action “criminalizes the medical act” and asserted that it sets a worrying precedent for the eventual application of the new provisions of the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. “We will not allow the Prosecutor’s Office to use prison as a tool for media or punitive pressure,” he stated.
The president of the CMD reiterated that complaints of alleged medical malpractice must be investigated through due process and supported by a medical-legal expert report before coercive measures are taken against health professionals.
