OFF THE CUFF: Call for sick kids hospital action
BUREAUCRACY is slowing progress towards replacing Panama’s aging Hospital del Niño (Children’s Hospital).
The hospital’s facilities are vastly overcrowded with medical staff, in an outdated environment, struggling to cope with a constant stream of children from across the country while the government apparently sits on its hands, strengthening the belief of critics of the present administration that it moves like a tortoise.
The site for the new hospital, on Avenida Balboa. estimated to cost around $62 million , is where the former US Embassy stood, is used as a parking lot
The Hospital’s Medical Director Paul Gallardo has urged the Ministry of Health to send the contract for the design of a new facility to the comptroller for endorsement as soon as possible.
The consortium Diseño Hospital del Niño was awarded the contract on December 31.
Gallardo said it is unusual that it would take that long for the ministry to submit the contract to the comptroller.
“We don’t know why the process has stopped,” he said.
Gallardo said he is aware that the contract requires careful study, but he reiterated that the time spent on it by the ministry has been excessive.
“We want it to be sent as soon as possible so the company can start work,” he said.
Jaime Maduro, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Hospital, expressed the view that the process should be more expeditious, but acknowledged that bureaucratic procedures tend to be extensive reports La Prensa.
“I do not believe that the ministry is acting in bad faith. They are interested in the new hospital being built. But unfortunately, this is the system,” he said.
