President announces resources to allow hospitals to provide services on Saturdays throughout 2023 and a plan to perform over 50,000 surgeries and procedures
These commitments are meant to strengthen access to health care and shorten wait lists.
President Gabriel Boric, accompanied by Health Minister Ximena Aguilera, Health Care Networks Undersecretary Fernando Araos and staff from San Borja Arriarán Hospital, presented an overview of the steps that have been taken to deliver on their promise to shorten wait lists. He also discussed other efforts that will be made in this area in 2023.
Chile’s leader explained that the government has implemented measures such as expanding hospitals’ hours of operation, deploying medical missions throughout the country, and opening three regional health care centers.
“And these measures are paying off. Between December 2021 and December 2022, we have reduced wait times for non-Explicit Health Guarantees (EHG) surgeries and new specialty appointments. For example, in December 2021, a person waited 661 days for an operation. One year later, in December 2022, we reduced that by 10 months to 302 days. The wait for new specialty appointments was 353 days in December 2021, and we decreased it by 85 days -just under three months- by November 2022,” the President explained.
Regarding the work that has been planned for the upcoming year in this area, President Boric stated that resources will be allocated to allow hospitals to continue to operate on Saturdays throughout 2023, and that his administration also has introduced other measures including a Surgical Productivity Plan.
“We will continue to strengthen access to health care in 2023, reducing wait list and wait times (...). More than 30 hospitals from Arica to Magallanes opened their doors today, as they did every Saturday during the second half of 2022. This involves a great deal of additional spending, but we believe that health care is a right, that it has to be quality care and that it has to be delivered in a timely manner. That’s why we’re doing this,” he said.
The President noted that over 2,00 people who had been waiting for health care will be seen this Saturday alone. “We will allocate 35 billion pesos to allow hospitals to continue to open every Saturday this year, offering services to thousands of patients across the country. This also provides stability to health care personnel, as they now know that this is not an exception, and that it will continue to be the case this year and next if necessary until we reduce wait lists to a minimum,” he explained.
President Boric added that his administration will allocate 28.754 billion pesos to a Surgical Productivity Plan that will allow health care providers to perform over 50,000 surgeries and procedures.
Finally, he reported that two new regional health care centers will be opened to bring health care closer to patients.
“Public health care is a government policy that depends on more than any one government. Each administration contributes to its improvement, and many stakeholders play an important part in that effort. I want to specifically recognize our health care workers, who were very much exposed as front line workers during the pandemic and continue to work to improve the health care that is provided to Chilean men and women. As such, we wish to express our appreciation to them,” the President concluded.