Almost a week following the death of the 3-year-old girl who drowned in the pool of her house, the residents of Ullum took to the streets to demand a decent health system for all inhabitants. For this reason, the organizers of the protest prepared a note addressed to Alejandra Venerando, Minister of Health. The formal request requested a more complete health assistance and that it be available in the department all day, every day.
The neighbors sign the note with the formal request for health. Photo: Sergio Leiva / HUARPE DAILY.
The parents of the girl who died led the column of almost thirty people who attended the call. Diego Albornoz, the little girl’s father, spoke with HUARPE DAILY and said: “We went out to march so that what happened to us does not happen to anyone else.”
The parents of the deceased girl, accompanied by her family. Photo: Sergio Leiva / HUARPE DAILY.
The parents’ faces showed pain and shock at the accident that claimed the life of the little girl. However, they managed to be in front of the group of people who protested in the vicinity of the Municipality of Ullum.
It is that, following the details of the accident that cost the little girl her life were known, it was learned that on January 19 the place was an ambulance with only the driver on board. At that time, the doctor who was on duty at the CIC (Community Integration Center) did not visit the girl.
As witnessed by some neighbors HUARPE DAILY, the health professional stated that he might not leave the care center because, otherwise, “they might carry out a summary”. Regarding this data, it was totally denied by Dr. Walter Antuña, head of Sanitary Zone IV, who said: “I would never sue someone for doing their job.”
That is why the residents of the department demand better medical care and higher quality, while asking for one more ambulance, since the municipality only has one. Ullum’s neighbors consider that with that alone they are not enough.
On the other hand, the protesters asked for an emergency guard to attend to medical emergencies, those who cannot wait 28 minutes to reach the Marcial Quiroga Hospital. “We need health 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Medical care has no color, it has no age, it has no days or hours,” Alejandra Bustos, the president of the Villa del Lago Civil Association, exclaimed during the march.
With the girl’s parents in front, the march traveled a few blocks to the municipality. Photo: Sergio Leiva / HUARPE DAILY.
While the neighbors walked for several blocks, more people joined and signed the note that would later be delivered to the Ministry of Health. Finally, the neighbors gathered in front of the municipality of Ullum and demanded answers regarding the problem of the health system.
