Baby’s death at Cuenca hospital is investigated; Azuay Assembly members want national IESS probe; Mayor demands more cops on city streets

The Agency for Quality Assurance of Health Services (ACESS) opened an investigation Tuesday into the death of a newborn baby at a private Cuenca hospital. The agency is also questioning the hospital’s refusal to release the baby, who was in critical condition at birth, until the parents paid their bill.

ACESS officers made an inspection of the hospital Tuesday morning and met with owners and managers to obtain records regarding the case and to review hospital protocols and practices. ACESS said a full review will take several days to complete. In a statement, the agency said its initial audit “showed the hospital infrastructure and equipment, as well as procedures, complied with health regulations and standards.”

Cuenca Mayor Cristian Zamora is asking the national government to increase the number of police in the city.

Following a cesarean section birth last Thursday, the hospital refused to transfer the baby to a public hospital because the parents could not pay the bill. While the couple and their attorney negotiated with administrators, the baby, who was born in critical condition, died.

Following the baby’s death, the hospital refused to release the body and only agreed when the National Ombudsman office interceded.

Azuay Assembly members want national IESS probe
Azuay Province’s five National Assembly members will ask the full Assembly to support a nationwide investigation of corruption in the Social Security (IESS) system. They say cases of suspected corruption at Cuenca’s IESS hospital may “only be the tip of the iceberg.”

Assemblyman Adrián Castro said the Azuay delegation will ask for a change of the Assembly agenda to discuss the issue. “I have reliable information that what we discovered in Cuenca is happening at other IESS hospitals and clinics,” he said. “We must end the illegality but, more important, we must restore service and confidence in a system that is failing its members.”

On Tuesday, Castro also said the president of the employees’ union at Jose Carrasco Arteaga IESS Hospital, Rosa Argudo, has failed to respond in writing to a series of questions she refused to answer at a June 24 meeting with Assembly members. “She agreed to answer within 10 days and it has been 19 days and there is still no response.”

Assemblymembers questioned Argudo about her relationship with a vending company operating machines in the hospital and her handling of union of dues. She was also questioned about properties she owned in Cuenca, Quito and Manta, as well as the employment of family members at the hospital.

Mayor wants more cops on the streets
Cuenca Mayor Cristian Zamora is demanding the government increase police presence on city streets. In meetings Monday and Tuesday, the mayor met with the zonal National Police commander as well as with staff of the Azuay governor’s office to discuss the issue.

“Cuenca is the safest large city in the country, and we want to keep it that way,” Zamora said in a Tuesday press conference. “Like other communities in Ecuador, however, we are facing increasing pressure from criminals and want to ensure we have the police resources to meet that pressure.”

He added there has been a “modest increase” of crime in several categories, including burglaries and business extorsion attempts, and said having more police in the city is necessary to maintain control. “The police command agrees we need enforcements and says more personnel will be added,” he said.

Guayaquil football player dies in fall
Justin Cornejo, a goalkeeper for the Guayaquil Barcelona SC football team, died Monday following a fall in his bathroom shower. The accident is being called a “tragic, freak event” by team managers.

According to Cornejo’s family, he slipped on soapy tile while showering, hitting his head on the shower floor. Although he was alive when he arrived at a local hospital, he died shortly afterward from massive brain trauma. He was 20 years old.