This Monday had the lowest participation of Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) employees in the strike that began on September 10th.
This was confirmed by the president of the institution, Román Macaya, who also said that they hope to “catch up” with suspended appointments and surgeries within a period no longer than four months.
The Fund also indicated that it ran a test with a thousand patients to establish the best way and attention times to recover the lost care. For example, it was found that 28% of the surgeries were already done, even in the midst of the most critical days.
The Medical Manager of the CCSS, Roberto Cervantes, explained that the specialties that have been most affected are in ophthalmology, general surgery, and gynecology.
The rescheduled appointments and surgeries will be done in extraordinary hours so as not to affect patients who already have scheduled appointments or operations.
As of Monday, the institution will provide a call center to reschedule medical attention. 50% of the pending surgeries are ambulatory. And it is estimated that 25 of the country’s hospitals are operating at almost 100%.