The Minister of Health, Fernando Boyd Galindo, stated that a general increase in operating hours in health centers is, first, not needed, and second, said increase must have the budget allocations from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). With these words, the Minister of Health requested a deeper analysis of Bill 19, approved in second debate in the National Assembly, which seeks to extend operating hours in the health centers of the Ministry of Health (MINSA). Boyd Galindo pointed out that an extended schedule is currently maintained in 120 health centers nationwide, through a care scheme tailored to the needs of each region, district, and sub-district, especially in places where it is necessary to provide care after business hours. "The initiative of this bill is good, but it must be analyzed and organized so that the necessary budget is available to comply with it," reiterated the Minister of Health. During the first debate on Bill 19, MINSA presented modifications to two of the project's articles, mainly concerning the extension of hours in health centers. One of the modifications proposed by the institution was to Article 3 of the aforementioned Bill, which now reads: "The Ministry of Health, according to the specific needs of each region, will implement policies for the proper and sufficient provision of comprehensive health services and the supply of medicines and supplies, in accordance with current health regulations." The other proposed modification was to Article 4, whereby: "health centers, sub-centers, polyclinics, MINSA CAPSI and similar entities will operate during the hours determined by the Ministry of Health, according to population needs, installed capacity, availability of human resources, and budgetary resources of each health region." In any case, MINSA will ensure that in each health region there is at least one primary care facility with extended hours, in order to guarantee timely access to basic health services.
