- Thanks to this agreement, there will now be more security reviews in hospitals to verify that health workers do not “steal” supplies and healing materials.
- The alliance will be applied in the 114 medical units that ISSSTE has nationwide.
- According to some doctors, there is no theft of material, but the hospitals suffer from a serious shortage of supplies.
Security inside hospitals is a priority for the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE). But it is not only about caring for people but also about preventing the theft of material and supplies by health workers. For this reason, he announced an increase in measures to prevent this type of situation from occurring.
With this in mind, the general director of ISSSTE, Pedro Zenteno Santaellaand the commissioner of the Federal Protection Service (SPF), Louis WertmannThey signed an agreement.
Increase protection in all ISSSTE units
The head of ISSSTE pointed out that with the signing of the agreement will provide security service to 114 medical unitsamong which are the “20 de Noviembre” National Medical Center, 27 general hospitals, 14 regional hospitals and 72 hospital clinics, where a significant number of beneficiaries with high medical demand are treated.
“The task of guarding the ISSSTE assets is very important and fundamental because it belongs to the beneficiaries, to the people of Mexico, thanks to them medicines and equipment are purchased, hospitals are built and the service is provided and we have to take care of them, because we are only the administrators of their money”.
This agreement is established weeks after what happened with Fernando Villalobos, who is an Undergraduate Internal Physician (MIP) at the Hospital 1º de Octubre located in Mexico City. On October 18, he was arrested upon leaving the hospital because several syringes, needles, and gloves were found in his backpack in his possession. At that time, he requested the support of a patrol and he was detained for several days.
Although he has already been released, the legal process against him for the alleged theft of medical supplies is still ongoing. On his part, the young man has stated that everything was generated because shortages of supplies are common in his hospital. Therefore, everything he had in his possession was for use on his journey the next day.
Regardless of the foregoing, Commissioner Luis Wertman explained that this agreement complies with the instructions of the Secretariat to increase the state of force up to achieve the protection of all health sector facilities.
“The coordination between the Institute and the Federal Protection Service is permanent and effective, which means that security increases rapidly in each of the facilities.”
Fight the “ant robbery”
For her part, Secretary Rodríguez explained that next year the ISSSTE will have more elements of the Federal Protection Service to improve the custody of hospitals, nurseries, pharmacies and other properties.
“The presence of elements of the Federal Protection Service has allowed the ant robbery to drop by 25%, that some workers do not understand that this is a major crime, it is a serious crime. So, we are going to continue reducing these types of incidents, which is why the agreement that is signed today is relevant, so that everyone knows that the bases are laid for the ISSSTE to have this type of guards”.
For the time being, now all the hospitals in the ISSSTE will have more SPF security elements. While it is proposed to increase the number of checks on workers when leaving the facilities to verify that they do not steal material and healing equipment.
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