Health Minister Hernando Cevallos on Tuesday reiterated that one of the greatest efforts of President Pedro Castillo’s administration will be to decentralize health care and strengthen such services in regions.
At present, when citizens are diagnosed with any type of cancer, they have to travel to Lima, and if they lack sufficient resources to do so, they die without getting medical care.
The head of the
Ministry of Health (Minsa) mentioned that the same happens with the mother-child couple, adding that hospitals in the interior of the country lack specialized units to take care of babies who are born with health problems and, even less, of premature ones; so, they need to be transferred to Lima.
"This situation should not be normalized in a country, and I say 'normalized' because health services have not changed for decades. The subject is always discussed, but no change has been made," he expressed.
The government official affirmed that the political decision —proposed by President Pedro Castillo— to decentralize health care has been made, and the construction of macro-regional hospitals will take place at first, but this will be carried out on a gradual basis.
In statements to Red de Comunicacion Regional (RCR), the minister indicated that the sector will work in coordination with regions so that they can implement maternal-child hospitals in the future and the mother-child couple can get proper health care.
He went on to say that the National Institute of Neoplastic Diseases will be strengthened and will have branches in other regions.
"This means a different resource policy, which encourages decentralization but also provides elements to work," he pointed out.
(END) JCB/MAO/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 3/8/2021