Crisis at San Ignacio Hospital – Doctors & nurses suspend medical services

Dr. Angelica Rosado

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The over 100 doctors, nurses and staffers at the San Ignacio Community Hospital are on go-slow until the Ministry of Health’s Deputy Regional Manager, Myra Pulido, is removed by Minister of Health Pablo Marin.

The hospital staff accuses Pulido of failing to follow protocols and policies of Ministry of Health and Public Service, and of abusing her authority. One such alleged incidence of abuse occurred on Tuesday morning when Pulido reportedly called for Police Officers to remove the hospital’s Chief of Staff Dr. Angelica Rosado from the compound. The BELIZE TIMES understands that an argument between the two flared up when Pulido shouted at and embarrassed Dr. Rosado in the presence of many others.

Pulido ended up calling the police and the staff rebelled immediately. The tension between Pulido and Dr. Rosado has existed for some time now. Dr. Rosado had resigned late last year but her resignation was not honoured by the Public Services Commission, which in turn advised the doctor to return to work until the paper work was properly processed.

The problems with the Deputy Regional Manager also are not limited to one person. Last year, the BELIZE TIMES received a letter (reprinted on page 2) that the staff wrote, signed and sent to the Minister of Health, Pablo Marin, informing that “we are unable to work adequately with our Deputy Regional Manager, Mrs. Myra Pulido, and we request as an institution, that her role here be reviewed and she is destitute from her current post.”

Pulido began working at the hospital in September 2010, suspectedly as a political appointee, and since then there have been reports of disrespect from her part to supervisors and Heads of Departments. The letter also details that the staff reported to the Regional Manager and the Deputy Directors of Health Services in the Ministry about the inconsistencies they have at the hospital and even accused Pulido of creating problems with the adequate flow of patient care by trying to intervene directly with every decision made in the different departments.

The doctors, nurses and support staff are intimidated by Pulido’s tactics and they are adamant that, like her party, she MUST GO. While they are prohibited by public service laws from speaking to the press, they are now seeking avenues to deal with their concerns. They have initiated a go-slow, halting all services unless they are an emergency, until Pulido is removed from the institution.

Some of the allegations against Pulido include decreasing the food provided to patients and staff; refusing to acknowledge what, by Public Service law, is entitled to the staff as overtime, threatening the staff on many occasions with the loss of their jobs if they did not adhere to her rules; and firing a driver on New Year’s Eve of 2010 after his duty finished at 11 that night.

The signatories to the letter asked that Pulido be transferred or demoted because she has bluntly disrespected the recommendations and suggestions of the Technical persons at Ministry of Health. The staffers expressed great discomfort in working with her and said they felt demoralized.  The letter was written in October of 2011, three months before this recent incident on Tuesday.

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