Health workers on strike: "It is not a matter of more or less money"

SANTIAGO.- The baby born in a hospital bathroom and the botched inauguration of the public medical center in Curepto were only the straws that broke the camel’s back.  The 60 thousand Health workers on strike today are holding the demonstration to demand solutions to problems affecting the deepest levels of the system.  In the workers´ opinion, these issues will not be solved by sitting down to talk with authorities, but will only be remedied after the government acknowledges its own responsibility and increases the amount of resources.

“This is not a matter of negotiation, of more or less money, we are talking about a problem with public health, and that is not negotiable”, the National Director of the Confederation of Health Workers (Confenats), Roberto Alarcón, told Emol.

“Here, rather than a dialogue, we need solutions” from the government, “who should take the reins and offer up the necessary resources”, added Alarcón.

The lack of infrastructure, personnel, supplies, beds and adequate medical attention during emergencies along with the long waiting lists, are some of the main problems Alarcón has drawn attention to.