CSS Panama Denounces Boycott and Reinforces Control of Appointment Schedules

The Social Security Service (CSS) of Panama clarified in a statement that "any announcement circulating regarding the opening of schedules for 2026 in hospitals or polyclinics is invalid and must be disregarded." The CSS denounced a boycott and reinforced the control of appointment schedules for 2026. "We reiterate that schedules cannot be activated without strictly complying with consultation and authorization processes, and any team or unit that has enabled appointments for 2026 without permission will be duly sanctioned," the statement indicated. The reaction comes after an unauthorized opening of appointment schedules for 2026 was recorded on Monday at the Ciudad de la Salud. "When this happens, it draws our attention to the few people we had posted and, of course, the lack of organization," said Dino Mon, the director. In this sense, Mon acknowledged the lack of specialists is "one of the great challenges we have in Panama by discipline, in the CSS there are eight neurologists for all the people who need that service." According to the director of the CSS, "appointments depend on the number of people who need care and the number of specialists we have." Dino Mon does not rule out that the "commotion" that formed on Monday morning at the Ciudad de la Salud is the result of a boycott, although he said he does not know if there is a "Trojan Horse" within the Social Security Service whose purpose is to destabilize one of the country's main health institutions. "I think it's both," Mon responded when asked on TVN Noticias if what happened with the call for specialist appointments at the Ciudad de Salud was a boycott or an error. Mon indicated that the institution is now looking for those responsible for the regrettable incident and has already taken measures such as "the control of all schedules to continue the investigation, that cannot be determined in 24 hours," he said. "To guarantee an orderly and safe process, management protocols will be reinforced, including the reorganization of care flows, the increase of operational staff, and constant communication with users," the CSS assured. "Undoubtedly (there are officials involved), but we cannot give any type of information until the investigations are finished," Mon stated. According to Mon, they are investigating how, in a single day, more than 2,800 people were summoned to the atrium of the Ciudad de la Salud, whose usual demand is 400 people. "We don't know if there is a Trojan Horse," Mon added.