Mabel Jasmine Valdez
BARILOCHE
It would never occur to me to say that in Argentina we cannot allow ourselves to continue caring for foreigners who need cures, treatments or emergencies in our public hospitals.
There is a humanitarian feeling that we should never give up.
But it does hurt me that an Argentine – like the citizen of Salta who was traveling on a motorcycle with his friends in Bolivia – has not been decently cared for in that country during his agony.
Above all, considering that (according to what has been assured) monetary reasons prevailed, a priority that -to tell the truth- we have also heard raised several times from the accounting areas of some private clinics in Argentina as a necessary condition before providing care or carrying out a hospitalization .
Where has the humanization of the medical profession gone?
Where is the Hippocratic Oath of medical professionals?
In the case of what happened in Bolivia, it must be borne in mind that a Cooperation Agreement on Health Matters had been signed between Argentina and Bolivia that contemplates “guaranteeing free and timely treatment of urgencies and emergencies that affect nationals of a party who is in the territory of the other party, regardless of their immigration status”.
In short, the agreement has been violated.
And at this point, the Argentine ambassador to the neighboring country and the Argentine Foreign Ministry should act firmly in the search for explanations and reparation for such an unacceptable violation.