Coronel Oviedo Neonatologists Put Their Positions at Risk Amid Health Service Shortages

Neonatologists at the Maternal and Child Hospital in Coronel Oviedo have warned that they may resign if persistent shortages and poor working conditions continue.

In a public statement, the specialists backed the demands raised during Paraguay’s five-day national doctors’ strike, which ended without an agreement with the government. They said they were placing their positions “at the disposal” of authorities if the situation does not change.

The doctors described their working conditions as deeply deficient and said they had faced shortages for years while continuing to care for newborns requiring highly complex treatment. They also called for union demands to be heard and resolved through concrete measures, including stable medical teams and pay that reflects the demands of neonatology.

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at the disposal

The statement called for stronger support for hospitals outside the capital, including more staff, supplies and equipment. “Defending dignified conditions for those who provide care also means defending our newborns’ right to safe, specialized and quality treatment,” it said.

The warning comes amid a broader wave of threatened resignations in Paraguay’s public pediatric system. The National Medical Union, Sinamed, said about 300 specialists and subspecialists could submit resignations, potentially leaving pediatric surgery with little national coverage. At the Hospital de Trauma, 19 of 21 pediatric intensive-care specialists were described as resignants. At the Acosta Ñu General Pediatric Hospital, the country’s main specialist center, resignations reportedly involved 86% of the staff.

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Defending dignified conditions for those who provide care also means defending our newborns’ right to safe, specialized and quality treatment