Santiago. – Concern grips patients and community members following reports of a possible privatization of the Cibao Regional Oncology Institute in Santiago, which has sparked demonstrations in defense of this vital public health space for those battling cancer.
Pastor Pablo Ureña, in protest, chained himself this Monday in front of the center’s facilities and denounced that this hospital “does not belong to a single person”, urging patients to join the demonstrations to stop the privatization plans.
Similarly, users expressed their outrage at the increases in service costs, which they consider unsustainable for low-income families.
Ramona Rodríguez Peña, a breast cancer patient who is moving from the province of Dajabón, said that if this measure were to materialize, she would be one of the most harmed, as would other patients who depend on this center for treatment.
The crisis has also hit the medical staff: some have been laid off and others have chosen to resign, including Dr. Juan Vila, who was in charge of surgery. These events reflect a deterioration in the quality and stability of health services in the institution.
The affected parties are calling for state intervention and guarantees to maintain the public nature of the Oncology Center, in order to ensure access to the treatments that thousands of patients need to survive.
Other patients came out in defense of the care they receive at the center, while deploring that an attempt is made to advance in a privatization that, they said, would attack the most vulnerable.
Amidst the uncertainty, the president of the board, engineer Héctor Lora, is pointed out as responsible for this situation, who is accused of the cancellations that affect the functioning of this health institution.
