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71 Year Old Man Has To Wait To
2009 For a Medical Appointment
Nelson Castro thought he was a
victim of a practical joke. But,
soon the 71 year old man,
learned that the appointment he
was given to see a urologist on
April 20, 2009 at the Pérez
Zeledón, was in fact real.
"I burst out laughing at first,
then realized the vulgarity and
the mockery", said Castro, who
is suffering from an
inflammation of the prostate
which will get worse with time.
According to figures of the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro Social (Caja)
for last June, it had 43.586
persons waiting for some medical
service. Medical specialties,
including, radiology, have the
longest waiting list,
Many patients have to wait a
year or more to see a specialist
or to get surgery.
The Caja says it has a shortage
of specialists, especially in
the areas of opthamology and
urology, according to Rosa
Climent, manager of medical
services at the Caja.
Climent added that in many
cases, there aren't sufficient
doctors to see patients and when
there are doctors the equipment
is not working or not available
or there is no technician to
operate the equipment.
Daisy Corrales, director of the
Unidad Técnica de Listas de
Espera (the official controller
of the waiting list) could only
add that those patients who are
not happy with the waiting can
make their complaints to the "Contraloría
de Servicios" at the medical
facility and have their case
reviewed.
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