According to the National Confederation of Municipal Health Functionaries (CONFUSAM), in 2023, 7,184 attacks occurred in health services throughout the country, a figure that has been raising during the current year.
Interior Minister Carolina Tohá spoke of the issue and announced that a meeting of the Pro-Security Cabinet will be held next Friday, where different alternatives will be analyzed, among which she mentioned installing more cameras and better lighting and communication systems.
Questioned about the possibility of placing armed guards inside health centers, Tohá said that this is being evaluated and studied in depth because it would imply greater logistics and efforts. “The vigilantes require a series of elements, conditions and higher demands. That is why it is not just a matter of arriving and deciding,” the minister said at a press conference.
The issue was also discussed during a meeting between the Minister of Health, Ximena Aguilera, and leaders of CONFUSAM.
Aguilera explained that, although progress must continue, since 2022 more than 3.9 billion pesos (four million dollars) have been distributed for security measures in municipalities, including the so-called panic buttons.
Gabriela Flores, president of CONFUSAM, explained about this issue, that the union’s interest is to protect, above all, primary care services, which are the first line. “In Alto Hospicio, in the north of the country, our people work with bulletproof vests and helmets,” she denounced.
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