Cancer victims hit by government crawl

AS PANAMA’S National Cancer Institute (ION) buckles under the weight of patient overload, the government remains big on promises, slow on delivery.

The details of the transfer of the Institute to the Hospital City project, which is itself stalled, are still not defined despite the measure being announced with a flourish  in September 2015.

Executives of ION delivered a functional health plan to the Ministry of Health in December. But they have not yet received a reply, reports La Prensa.

Social Security Director Estivenson Giron, whose agency is working with the ministry on the project, said no firm decisions have been made.

Minister of Health Francisco Javier Terrientes said he is meeting with representatives of the project contractor Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) to discuss including the cancer treatment center.

ION Medical Director Aníbal Villa-Real said the center needs more space for the number of patients, which number just under 100,000.

In 2014 alone the center added 3,236 new patients.