Ruth Rodríguez- Rain of doctors for Otis. They fear outbreaks and infectious diseases

Although the hurricane Otis left devastation, it also brought an army of medical specialists like never before seen in Guerrero. And yet, they cannot cope with the thousands of people who lost their homes and who have limited access to drinking water, sanitation, food and health care.

In the last two weeks, a group of 1,056 specialist doctors from the different National Health Institutes of the federal Ministry of Health, as well as the IMSS, ISSSTE and IMSS-Bienestar, have arrived in Acapulco and the affected areas. However, the health diagnosis so far is not very good and Doctors Without Borders is the one who warns about it. Its members also came to this place to help and collaborate with the Operational Command for Health Security, which identified a high potential risk of infectious disease outbreaks.

Another challenge they identified is mental health care for the surviving population, due to the multiple human and material losses. The emergency in Acapulco and nearby municipalities is such that Doctors Without Borders decided to intervene to support the restoration of health services.

Otis It revealed a lag in the medical care of the Guerrero population, which has been dragging on for six years and which the current federal administration promised to resolve and, apparently, will not fulfill. This meteorological phenomenon turned the eyes of the entire world towards Guerrero, one of the states with the greatest poverty, insecurity and lack of services, including doctors for its population.

The fact that the offices of the federal Ministry of Health have moved to Acapulco did not mean that the hospital infrastructure has increased. Even just a few months ago, its governor, Evelyn Salgadosigned with Zoe Robledo the collaboration agreement so that state health services become part of the IMSS-Bienestar.

TONGUE DEPULER

First no and now yes! When this administration began, Angelica Cisnerosformer head of Seguro Popular and current deputy for Morena, announced, along with Jorge Alcocer, Secretary of Health, the elimination of this security scheme, which would be replaced by Insabi. They said there would no longer be a credentialing process. There were no credentials for five years. Yesterday, Zoe Robledo announced the beginning of the credentialing process for IMSS-Wellbeing services, with the objective of identifying beneficiaries and verifying that the data is updated, for which he is right, because since the times of Seguro Popular there was already a record of an inflated registry of beneficiaries or dual affiliation.

But, more than a credential, what is required is to improve medical care, which we are still very far from achieving.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Patients from the 1° de Octubre Regional Hospital of the ISSSTE sent a letter to the general director of that institute, Pedro Zenteno Santaellawhere they reported that there are no oncology doctors on any shift, who in recent months have resigned or been absent for long periods, which has had an impact on medical care.

Added to this is the lack of medical material necessary for oncological therapies, such as contrast-enhanced tomography, oncological chemicals, needles for port catheters, among other supplies.

The most incredible thing about this is that the patients met with Zulma Carbajal Salgado, particularly from the general director of the ISSSTE, who asked them to take control of their treatment themselves (of course, because there are no doctors) and ask the administrative deputy director of the hospital, who is responsible for guaranteeing the supply of all medications, to give them also carry this control so that they can receive their chemotherapies. Propose this to him, he told them. Zulma Carbajal. All she had to do was say: convince him. Regarding the lack of oncology doctors, the official flatly told them that this is a lack of planning by the Medical Coordination, who are the ones who should request more doctors when there are none. Although she recognized that, indeed, there is no. To finish this story, everyone is responsible, even the sick, for the situation at the 1° de Octubre hospital, except the general director, Pedro Zenteno.