Following allegations that various machines at the public Posadas Hospital, located in the Greater Buenos Aires Area, were purposefully vandalized by hospital workers afraid of being laid off — and thus resorting to so-called scare tactics to maintain their positions — President Mauricio Macri yesterday said that he will press charges against the responsible parties. But certain hospital workers claim that the malfunctions are the result of unintentional accidents and that the current government is using the allegations to carry out their agenda, i.e. laying off loads of workers.
Let’s look at the situation, shall we?
What’s Been Happening At The Posadas Hospital?
In the past week, a series of malfunctions — allegedly purposeful vandalism — have arisen at the Posadas Hospital: its 25 elevators stopped working simultaneously and all of its refrigerators, which operate to cool medication, broke down due to an electrical failure. The proverbial cherry on top that has led to widespread suspicions of sabotage and scandal across social media was the image of a wheelchair thrust into the only MRI scanner available in the hospital (seen below).
While hospital director Alberto Díaz Legaspe insists that “without a doubt,” the wheelchair incident must be the result of sabotage, neurosurgery chief of residence Juan Manuel Herrero claims it was definitely an accident.
“The people who were operating the MRI scanner that day are veterans who know how it works. Anyone who’s ever had an MRI scan knows that you can’t go in with metallic objects, not even a ring. Plus, there’s a warning on the door outside,” Legaspe said.
Herrero countered: “On Friday, a resident entered the room with a wheelchair and what happened was an accident, what happened is unfortunate but it happens in various places […] I wasn’t there that day […] This hospital has always been used for political fighting but I don’t know if it applies to this case.”
The machine had been repaired recently and would cost over US$45,000 to fix. As the hospital’s only MRI scanner, it was used for about 30 patients daily who will now have to go elsewhere.
Political Issues At The Hospital
Hospital and politics. Who’d have thought? Basically, the Posadas Hospital is a public hospital and as such, it is largely financed by the State. There was a government takeover of the hospital last year on the grounds that the funds going into the hospital did not correspond to the service quality rendered to the patients. The hospital itself was apparently in very bad shape: sub par in terms of hygiene, medical supplies and general infrastructure.
The former mayor of Morón, where the hospital is located, Martín Sabbatella, requested for the government to take over the hospital. You may recognize his name because he was the head of the (now defunct) Federal Bureau of Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA) — the media watchdog — and was removed from his post by Macri’s administration in December.
After the government took over the hospital in April — which basically means it started running the show — around 1,500 new employees were taken on, initially in security-related roles, between May and December of last year, right before Macri’s administration replaced the former Kirchner government. In total, over the past three years, 3,500 employees were hired for non-medical jobs.
In an interview with Infobae, a doctor who wished to remain anonymous stated that “members of barras bravas were hired. People who haven’t even completed high school and many with a criminal record. It’s no-man’s land here and there’s a lot of fear because you don’t know who’s who.”
This was echoed by various media outlets over the course of last year, which is why Macri said he would investigate the barras bravas of the Morón Sports Club. According to Díaz Legaspe, the counts of vandalism began when the hospital announced plans to review contracts and possibly lay off those who were hired during last year’s government takeover. The majority of these new staff members is affiliated to the “New Encounter” political party, which is affiliated with Kirchnerism and is led by Sabbatella himself.
The appearance of threatening signs in the hospital don’t help workers’ case, though:
“Let it be clear: Behind every worker, there is a family. Leaving a worker on the street is equal to destroying a family. If you mess with my family, I’ll mess with yours. An eye for an eye…” one reads.
Yikes. Once again, we enter the realm of the controversial mass layoffs that have been taking place since Macri came to power. For more information, check out this article by The Bubble.
According to Sabbatella, the claims of sabotage are just an excuse to fire hospital workers, describing it as an “outright lie.”
Armaron la burda mentira de un supuesto sabotaje para justificar despidos de trabajadores en el Hospital Posadas.
— Martín Sabbatella (@Sabbatella) February 17, 2016
What Happens Next?
The Executive Branch is set to hold a press conference explaining the next steps for pressing charges later this evening.
“This hospital has been very much used for political purposes, for personal interests when the only thing one should be interested in is tending to the patients, because 3,000 people enter the Posadas Hospital every day for medical attention,” continued Díaz Legaspe. The Posadas Hospital is one of the biggest in the Greater Buenos Aires Area.
Díaz Legaspe also criticized Sabbatella (without mentioning his name directly), saying that he had appeared at the hospital several times “for no reason.”
Junto a @LucasGhi @HSabbatella @mfmacha y Martín Latorraca recorrimos hoy el Hospital Nacional Posadas de #ElPalomar pic.twitter.com/d4pz6cHV8F
— Martín Sabbatella (@Sabbatella) October 22, 2015
Not to be outdone by Macri, former executive staff member of the Posadas Hospital Diego Spina said that:
“We [New Encounter] are preparing criminal charges for this extremely serious libel of which we are victims and the manifested discrimination and persecution of workers for their political beliefs.”
Finger-pointing and criminal-charge-presenting aside, for now it would seem that the contract revisions are going to go ahead. And hopefully, that MRI scanner will be fixed and ready to get back in action within the next couple of weeks.
The post Was An MRI Machine ‘Attacked’? The Posadas Hospital Controversy, Explained appeared first on The Bubble | Argentina News.