The Constitutional Court (Sala Constitucional) has stepped in and ordered the Hospital Fernando Escalante Pradilla in Pérez Zeledón to perform an operation and provide care “within a reasonable time” to a 66 year old woman, who was given a medical appointment for 2022.
The daughter of the patient (whose identity has not been made public) filed a “recurso amparo” (constitutional appeal) on behalf of her mother who has been scheduled for a hernia operation within the next six months, but has to wait until 2022 for the gastroscopy.
Magistrate Fernando Cruz explained that the Court receives a considerable number of appeals requested that patients of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) – public health facilities – receive medical care and attention within a reasonable period of time.
According to Cruz, the Court has issued many orders based the fact that there are no reasons for the CCSS to not provide prompt medical attention when needed.
The magistrates considered “excessive and unreasonable” that a patient has to wait eight years to get a gastroscopy.
Source: Amelia Rueda
