IN MAY 2012, construction of the so-called Hospital City began a $500 million project promoted by the Social Security Fund (CSS), presumably to expand and modernize the institution's medical services offer in a single location. The project was supposed to be delivered in 2015; the name was changed to Ciudad de la Salud, and seven years later the work has only a 65% progress.

The designated director of the CSS has promised to conclude the project, which throughout its execution has included the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Panama, the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, and the National Oncological Institute.

 The truth is that the City of Health is a great commitment to the quality and coverage of hospital services. It is necessary that there is total transparency and external inspection to determine the feasibility of continuing the work.

It is a priority to validate the functional medical plan of this facility to determine if there are all categories of medical, technical and auxiliary personnel, which together with the administrative staff can actually operate this hospital properly. The great lesson of the mega project is that it cannot be improvised in such a delicate matter since the lack of planning and the arbitrariness of the authorities' behavior has left a multi million dollar investment in limbo. - LA PRENSA, Aug. 14