Possible corruption at Cuenca hospital is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in the IESS health system

The Azuay Province National Assembly delegation claims that potential corruption at Cuenca’s Social Security (IESS) hospital is occurring throughout the country. “What we are uncovering at José Carrasco Arteaga [hospital] is only the tip of the iceberg for the entire IESS health system,” says Diego Matovelle. “The investigation we are doing in Cuenca should happen nationwide.”

Members of the Azuay National Assembly delegation say that corruption in Cuenca’s Social Security hospital is partly to blame for poor service to patients,

Matovelle said he believed there could soon be arrests of employees at José Carrasco Arteaga but cautioned that investigations by prosecutors and the Comptroller’s office must conclude before allegations can be substantiated.

Although four officials of the hospital were interviewed by the Assembly members last Tuesday, including hospital director Héctor Martínez, the focus of their inquiries was Rosa Argudo, head of the hospital’s employee union. Five of Argudo’s relatives who work at the hospital are also under suspicion.

During last week’s questioning, Argudo was asked about her relationship with a company that holds a vending machine contract at the hospital and for a full accounting of the union dues she collects. She was also asked by Matovelle to justify the ownership of property in Cuenca, Manta and Quito valued at more than $900,000 on her monthly salary of $1,250.

Matovelle says he is aware of a social media claim that Argudo also owns a Cuenca hotel valued at $2 million but said he has seen no confirmation.

Argudo and her five relatives, including three of her children, have asked for vacation leave from their positions, prompting Matovelle and the other Azuay Assembly members to file a notitia criminis with the Attorney General’s office to prevent them from leaving the country. According to an unnamed source, the family has purchased airline tickets to Miami.

Wednesday night, the hospital union posted a social media message supporting Argudo. “We fully support Rosa Argudo in regard to complaints of irregularities at the José Carrasco Arteaga hospital,” the message said. “We reject the line of inquisitive interrogation based on self-incriminatory questions and insist that due process be respected that she be allowed the right to defend herself.”

In a Cuenca radio interview, Matovelle said he and fellow Assembly members were “just scratching the surface of corruption” in Cuenca and that similar inquiries should be carried out in all IESS facilities. “This is not simply about bringing guilty people to justice, it is about fixing the problems at IESS so it can effectively serve its clients,” he said. “We are all aware that the system is terribly underfunded, but we must first stop the corruption that is stealing badly needed recourses.”