Context of the hospital crisis in Puebla
The medical and nursing staff and workers of multiple public hospitals in the state of Puebla began partial work stoppages this Thursday, a pressure measure to make visible the serious shortage of supplies, medicines and biomedical equipment, as well as to demand decent working conditions. The demonstrations, coordinated by the National Union of Workers of the Ministry of Health (SNTSA), were replicated in at least 52 hospitals, including the General Hospital of the South in the capital and centers in Teziutlán, Zacatlán and Izúcar de Matamoros.
Demands and scope of the protests
Under slogans such as “IMSS Wellbeing, national failure” and “Work under protest”, employees displayed banners detailing critical shortages: absence of surgical materials, laboratory reagents, and even basic items such as alcohol and syringes. Julio Alfredo García, leader of section 25 of the SNTSA, emphasized that the request document delivered to the authorities includes:
- Immediate supply of drugs and healing materials.
- Replacement of essential medical equipment, such as infusion pumps for neonates.
- Salary standardization and additional positions to alleviate work overload.
In Tehuacán, Yosabeth Muñoz Merino, union representative, revealed that 90% of scheduled surgeries were canceled due to lack of anesthetics, while the ambulance service is paralyzed due to budget insufficiency. “Patients must cooperate financially to be transferred to Puebla,” he denounced.
Impact of the IMSS-Wellbeing model
The workers attribute the worsening of the crisis to the implementation of the IMSS-Bienestar scheme in March 2024. In Zacatlán, for example, they pointed out that the transition has violated labor rights without resolving structural deficiencies. “Promises of improvement are a dead letter,” said an employee at the Izúcar Hospital in Matamoros, where equipment such as hemodialysis machines was temporarily removed until social pressure forced its reinstatement.
Institutional response and perspectives
The state government assured that essential services will not be affected, but protesters warn that protests will escalate if there are no concrete solutions. Relatives of patients, such as those at the General Hospital of the South, joined the mobilizations to denounce the deterioration in care, especially in services subrogated to private companies like Zdenko.
This scenario reflects a systemic problem: according to SNTSA data, shortages and job insecurity have increased by 42% since 2023, with direct consequences on the quality of medical care. Health policy experts emphasize that, without urgent investment in infrastructure and human resources, the collapse of public hospitals could spread to other entities.
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