Specialists RZW still waiting for payment

It seems as if medical specialists who have been borrowed from other hospitals by the Regionaal Ziekenhuis Wanica (RZW) for the treatment of COVD-19 patients are putting their lives on the line pro deo. Or at least this is what can be concluded from the contents of an internal letter. The letter which was sent to the director of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo (AZP) where the medical specialists are employed asks attention for a problem with a colleague while mentioning that the COVID-19 patients are treated free of charge. Sources indicate that the specialists are puzzled by the letter especially given the fact that there is a COVID-19 budget for the Intensive Care Unit. Times of Suriname contacted several specialists but none of them wished to comment on the issue. The chairman of the Association of Physicians in Suriname (VMS), Ben Hewitt, acknowledged that he was aware of certain issues but did not want to comment. RZW’s Healthcare Director Fauzia Poese explained that she is aware of the fact that the care providers who work at the RZW were borrowed from other hospitals to assist with the medical treatment of COVID-19 patients but added that she did not know what kind of arrangements were made with the hospitals which reassigned the doctors.