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City of Health Cedes Operating Room to Children's Hospital to Reduce Surgical Waitlist
🇵🇦 Panama /Health & Science

City of Health Cedes Operating Room to Children's Hospital to Reduce Surgical Waitlist

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Panama's Ciudad de la Salud will lend a surgical operating room to the Hospital del Niño starting July 6, 2026.
  • This collaboration aims to reduce the backlog of surgical procedures for pediatric patients.
  • The initiative will optimize existing resources and improve timely access to necessary surgeries for children.

In a significant inter-institutional collaboration, Panama's Ciudad de la Salud will dedicate one of its state-of-the-art operating rooms to the Hospital del Niño, beginning July 6, 2026. This strategic partnership is designed to tackle the growing backlog of surgical procedures for pediatric patients, ensuring more timely and efficient care.

Dr. Alejandro Martínez, Medical Director of the Hospital Pediátrico de Alta Complejidad at Ciudad de la Salud, emphasized the initiative's core goal: the well-being of Panamanian children. "Panamanian children do not know about the Ministry of Health or the Social Security Fund; they know about their ailments," Martínez stated, highlighting that patient welfare transcends institutional boundaries.

Panamanian children do not know about the Ministry of Health or the Social Security Fund; they know about their ailments.

— Dr. Alejandro Martínez, Medical Director of the Hospital Pediátrico de Alta ComplejidadHighlighting the patient-centered approach of the collaboration.

The Hospital Pediátrico boasts seven fully equipped operating rooms. One of these, currently underutilized, will be made available to the Hospital del Niño for low-complexity and outpatient surgeries. The Hospital del Niño will be responsible for providing all necessary personnel, including nursing staff, specialist doctors, medical records technicians, and orderlies, to conduct these procedures.

This coordinated effort allows for the optimization of existing healthcare infrastructure and resources. By sharing facilities and personnel, both institutions aim to significantly reduce waiting times for pediatric surgeries and expand access to essential medical interventions. The alliance underscores a shared commitment to prioritizing the health of Panama's children through the effective use of public health system capacity.

We will make available an operating room that we are not using to the Hospital del Niño, and they will provide the nursing staff, specialist doctors, Medical Records, orderlies, and all the necessary human resources to perform their surgical procedures.

— Dr. Alejandro MartínezExplaining the specific contributions of each institution to the partnership.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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