2023-05-25 16:26:40
The outbreak of bronchiolitiswith an increase in cases of up to 30%, stressed the system once more of health and focused on the employment status of pediatricians: the Argentine Society of Pediatrics (SAP) issued a statement in which he demanded to improve conditions and demanded in this regard a commitment from the State and private institutions.
Among the most salient points of the extensive statement, the entity urged “the competent authorities to convene a dialogue tablein order to find an answer that considers an adequate solution to this situation of work overload for pediatricians and obstacles to care timely to patients.
This year, the season of Lower Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIB) came ahead, with a greater circulation of viruses and a strong load of the respiratory syncytial, which is what causes bronchiolitis. The outbreak particularly affects infants and young children. And as he might verify Clarion both in GBA and City hospitals, the increased demand is having an impact on care. In the Paroissien de La Matanza, for example, on Tuesday there was a delay of up to six hours.
The Buenos Aires Minister of Health, Nicolas Kreplak, said that we are undergoing “the worst bronchiolitis epidemic of which we have a record.” The experts asked to be more cautious, but recognized that the situation is serious. The official also admitted “a context in which there are few pediatricians“, although he maintained that this problem “is happening all over the world”.
What the SAP statement says
In the statement signed this Thursday by the SAP Board of Directors, mention is also made of “the delicate epidemiological situation due to the increase in respiratory infections that is affecting children and adolescents” and in this context the society expressed “its recognition to the pediatricians who, once once more, are carrying out their task with dedication throughout the country, despite the difficult working conditions and the postponement of legitimate claims”.
“We are in a difficult scenario for the professional practice of pediatrics”, the entity that brings together the country’s pediatricians was forceful. And he listed a series of problems: “Working conditions unacceptablehigh workload, job instability, lack of stimulus for growth, situations of violence, low pay, the need to moonlight to make ends meet and lack of opportunities to update in the profession”.
Pediatricians pointed out that this critical situation occurs both in the public and private spheres: “There are frequent factors related to the increase in demand, decrease in human resources in the health team, caused by the lack of new appointments, vacant positions that are not filled, temporary contracts, lack of equipment and infrastructure, lack of time to adequately examine patients, devaluation of professional work”.
“Today being part of the health system, particularly in the care sector, it is quite exhausting”, they sentenced.
The SAP requested a dialogue table so that the necessary measures can be taken to improve the conditions of the professional practice of pediatrics and thus ensure the health and well-being of our children and adolescents.”
“If we bet on a serious country, it is necessary that the State and all of society, including all the institutions that are part of it, care regarding medical professional development, both for their training and for the working conditions to which those who work to care for the health of all are subjected. Protect the health of children and adolescents by facilitating their access to pediatric care in conditions of equity and quality require public policy oriented in this sense, that prioritize professional training and the conditions in which the profession is exercised, ”said the entity.
The context of the order
“Pediatricians must contain seasonal pathologies. In winter it is common for us to have a high demand for cases of bronchiolitis. This was interrupted in the pandemic and now it returned with a increase in inquiries this year and in advance”, points to Clarion Rodolfo Pablo Moreno, president of the Argentine Society of Pediatrics, regarding the context in which they decided to write this letter.
He says that the first thing they sought was to make a tribute to pediatricians who go to work every day, who listen and accompany the families. “His situation is complex. Everyone has two or three jobs. In fact, I have two jobs,” says Moreno.
And he adds: “The economic crisis affects our profession. Many times we also face a lack of professional recognition, infrastructure problems and that, added to salaries and the increase in demand, leads pediatricians to be very tired and at risk of burnout”.
Pediatricians generally do 12 or 24 hour guards. “The work on the guard is exhausting, the demand is constant, the hospitals are overwhelmed, there is no place to admit patients and, therefore, they are left on the same guard. So they have to divide themselves between caring for those who continue to arrive and controlling those who remain hospitalized”, explains the president of the SAP.
“Not prioritizing the professional practice of pediatricians impacts the medical care received due to what it implies a violation of the rights of children and adolescents”, adds Moreno, who says that in the province of Buenos Aires and the interior of the country “for 36 hours of weekly work, between 24 on call and 12 on the floor, a public sector pediatrician earns between 250 and 300 thousand pesosdepending on seniority.
Asked regarding the salary in this specialty, Jorge Gilardi, former president of the Association of Municipal Doctors of CABA, affirms that in the City area they are earning 250,000 pesos for 30 hours a week.
Meanwhile, sources from the private health sector assure that a pediatrician receives prepayments between 1,500 and 3,400 pesos per consultation.
AS
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