Thousands of nurses and doctors are on strike in Lima, Peru, today as part of a 48-hour protest that began yesterday sparked by concerns over the need to improve health care conditions and increase medical salaries. Those on strike include approximately 9,000 members of the medical staff from the country’s national insurance coverage program, El Seguro Social de Salud del Perú (Social Health Insurance of Peru – EsSalud), which provides health services to about 20 percent of Peruvians through national EsSalud hospitals and facilities.
Zoila Cotrina, a labor union leader who represents health ministry employees, met with ministry authorities yesterday hoping to reach an agreement that would lift the protest. This morning, however, she said the dialogue was, “not what we expected.”
The protest has caused a shutdown of EsSalud facilities leaving emergency rooms the only option for those needing services. Local media estimates that 9 million Peruvians will not be able to rely on medical care as a result of the strike, which comes in the midst of one of Peru’s coldest winters. Already, the low temperatures, combined with the H1N1 flu virus, have claimed the lives of 44 people.
