Hospital workers stage walkout: “Patients must not pay the price”

ORANJESTAD — Workers at Horacio Oduber Hospital (HOH) staged a two-hour walkout on Wednesday morning to protest the lack of a lasting solution to the hospital’s financial problems. ABV union president Gina Maduro said the continuing uncertainty is frustrating staff and affecting the hospital’s ability to provide the care patients need.

The action followed a general membership meeting at which the union briefed workers on the situation. According to Maduro, ABV has held regular meetings with hospital management since February, when it was informed of a deficit that has continued to accumulate. “We believe this situation has gone on far too long,” Maduro said. “They keep putting a plaster on the wound.”

The union leader stressed that the dispute extends beyond employees’ interests. She said insufficient funding affects supplier payments, the availability of medical supplies and the services offered to patients.

According to Maduro, some suppliers have blocked the hospital’s accounts because of unpaid invoices. A recent Afl. 15 million payment allowed the hospital to meet urgent obligations, but did not resolve its structural deficit. She added that the time taken to pay creditors had fallen from approximately 120 to 90 days.

Maduro maintained that a draft Deloitte report indicates that current funding is insufficient to cover hospital expenditure. Based on her understanding of the document, inflation, exchange-rate differences and the hospital’s expansion have contributed to higher costs, including staffing, cleaning, water and electricity. ABV has requested the report. Maduro questioned the need for an additional investigation by BDO when, in her view, the need for more funding is already clear. “All these reports cost money,” she remarked, while the hospital continues to struggle to maintain services.

The ABV president urged the health minister to intervene and instruct AZV to make sufficient funding available while investigations continue. She cited Article 2a of the AZV ordinance as the instrument the union believes the minister can use to issue a directive. Maduro also called for a contract between the hospital and AZV clearly defining the price, volume and quality of the care to be provided. She said the action seeks lasting funding that would allow the hospital to lift service restrictions, restore operating-room and endoscopy capacity, and secure medical supplies. “Make sure patients do not ultimately pay the price,” Maduro said. “We want to provide our patients with the care they deserve: quality care.” Picture Maritza Maduro.