The visit of the government of Gustavo Petro to the department of San Andrés was passed by supervision of the reconstruction of Providencia almost two years following the passage of Hurricane Iota. The Minister of Health, Carolina Corkdenounced that the construction of the hospital for that population is delayed and, however, said that in the future the hospital network of the islands might offer services to Central America.
“We will have to review with the hospital management team the level of specialization that is required because other levels of complexity are needed, to reach the third level and seek a level of specialization that allows it to reach provide services to Central America or even reach out to the Antilles”, said Minister Cork.
The statements by the leader of the Health portfolio occurred in the midst of the announcement of its coverage plan for the insular region while the construction of the Providencia hospital is advanced, destroyed in November 2020 by the passage of Iota.
That the medical services provided in the department of San Andrés be projected for the inhabitants of Central America and the Antilles It is an idea that seems distantsince Providencia does not have a hospital and care is provided in a campaign center that is in a risk area, according to Corcho herself.
“It was surprising that the hospital was not among the reconstruction priorities. In fact, Right now in Providencia there is a field hospital that is located in a vulnerable area: In case of tragedy, the medical center would be the most affected. This must be in a sheltered area to preserve life,” Corcho pointed out.
A year following the passage of Iota, the government of former president Iván Duque affirmed that the Providencia hospital should have been demolished and that the reconstruction process had a progress of 32%. That accountability was in November 2021, 9 months have passed and the hospital center has not yet been delivered in that municipality.
“A few days ago the construction process began, whose new deadline in the tender is December 29however, the contractor says that at this time it is not enough for the issue of access to bring the materials that are required: this might generate a few more months of delay. We have to look for alternatives”, reiterated Corcho.
In the absence of the assistance center, the Petro government proposed the permanence of an air ambulance 24 hours a day for transfers, this service will be in charge of the Air Force. Likewise, in the coming months, the minister promised, they will reach the insular region 6 interdisciplinary medical teams and 70 health professionals that would generate a coverage of 90% in the care of this population.
