Dominican President Luis Abinader pledged to analyze and respond to several demands of a commission of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD), headed by its head, Waldo Ariel Suero, Diario Libre reported today.
The dignitary met the day before with this commission to discuss issues related to the health sector and the relations of the guild with the government.
According to the newspaper, at the end of the meeting, the vice-president Raquel Peña informed that the dignitary announced a second meeting in three weeks.
Meanwhile, Suero commented that among the points raised were the increase in salaries and pensions, improvement of health insurance and the CMD’s social plans.
He said that this Friday they will begin working with the Executive on the school health proposal, with the objective of appointing a school health professional in each school. They also agreed, he said, to maintain the dialogue with the National Security Council on the conflict with the Health Risk Administrators (ARS) regarding fees and tariffs and the extension of the basic health plan.
The commission raised with the president the poor state of some hospitals and the need to reinforce hospital security, he said.
According to Diario Libre, the CMD president said that the meeting took place in a relaxed and calm atmosphere and expressed his hope that President Abinader would comply with the doctors.
The Presidential website published the day before that this Thursday’s meeting, held at the National Palace, was attended by the vice president and president of the Health Cabinet, Raquel Peña; the minister of Public Health, Daniel Rivera; the director of the National Health Service (SNS), Mario Lama, and the director of Retirement and Pensions in charge of the State, Juan Rosa.
Also participating for the CMD were Luis Alberto Peña, secretary general; José Alberto Cruz, Justo José Nicasio and Luis Farington, first, second and third vice-presidents, respectively, among other representatives.
During 2023, the CMD and the specialized medical societies paralyzed the public network hospitals and private clinics on several occasions to resume their fight against the ARSs, after holding talks with government authorities, which failed.
Both organizations are calling for the creation of a universal basic health plan, unified fee schedules and the enactment of a new Social Security law based on the right to quality care.
In other mobilizations, the CMD has denounced the lack of water and minimum conditions to attend to the sick, the absence of laboratories for analytical tests, leaks in facilities, insecurity in the areas and the presence of insects in the beds of patients.
