A union representative defended the health unions saying the death of a 48-year-old patient can’t be attributed to negligence, just because they are on strike.
Luis Chavarría, general secretary of the National Union of Employees of the CCSS y la Seguridad Social (Undeca) stated that in the CCSS there are deaths every day, with or without strike.
The remarks were said after Mario Castro’s family denounced that he died due to a “Criminal negligence”, because, although he was in a delicate condition, he was not treated with priority at the San Rafel Hospital in Alajuela.
Chavarría even said that the information they have is that Castro was a chronic patient who had been receiving medical attention and that his health problem would be related to a respiratory virus. The now deceased arrived at the emergency service in the Alajuelense hospital with difficulty breathing, with dizziness and sore throat; the doctor told him they did not have personnel due to the strike and that he could only assist patients with serious conditions and that he did not require hospitalization, so he referred him to the Ebais de Montecillos.
The Deputy Prosecutor of Alajuela reported that there is an open investigation. The case is in the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), where an alleged crime of wrongful death is investigated in the form of malpractice.