Hospital crisis deepens in Paraguay as medicine shortages coincide with mass doctor resignations

Paraguay’s public health system is facing what the article describes as its deepest crisis of Santiago Peña’s government, with shortages of medicines and supplies compounded by a mass departure of doctors.

The Ministry of Public Health, led by María Teresa Barán, has sought to play down the situation by saying that 62% of the medicines on its essential list are available. But conditions reported in waiting rooms, operating theatres and intensive care units point to widespread shortages and growing pressure on families to pay for care themselves.

The staffing crisis has also accelerated. Around 270 doctors had resigned by Friday, and more than 200 anesthesiologists joined them, according to the article. It links the departures to deteriorating working conditions, a lack of government responses and the poor state of healthcare facilities.

Prescriptions given to patients’ relatives show the practical consequences. Families have been asked to search private pharmacies or take on debt to obtain basic medicines and supplies for surgery, despite the state’s constitutional obligation to provide them free of charge.

At the Hospital de Trauma in Asunción, requests included bupivacaine with epinephrine, 2% lidocaine, atropine, Efortil, tramadol, antibiotics, tranexamic acid, surgical sutures, alcohol and elastic bandages. A prescription from Hospital General de Itapúa in Encarnación listed shortages including nerve-block needles, lidocaine, cefazolin, Ethiban and sutures, illustrating how the shortages extend beyond the capital.