According to the Auditor General of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) the school health program conducted in this case, by the Acute General Hospital Parmenio Piñero "does not have sufficient resources to carry out their activities properly" considering that they "cover a very large population and school communities with many needs”.

It is the comprehensive care plan intended primarily for students in public schools in the City. It's not just a welfare program, but also preventive in nature, it is responsible for monitoring epidemiological diseases in schools (only in this case are private schools included), over existing support cases, review of the vaccination card in sixth grade hepatitis B vaccinations, compulsorily, and anti-hepatitis A. They also hold workshops with teachers, parents, and students. The tasks are developed between the hospital and six health centers (CESAC) that serve 70,000 students in the Health Region II.

The data provided by the Audit realize the situation assisted by the Hospital area (municipality 7, 8 and 9), stands out on food issues, that "22% of the school age population is overweight "and had, at least in 2008," the largest number of patients with tuberculosis (associated with poor living conditions and malnutrition disease), accounting for 37.3% of cases for all City hospitals”.

The audit report, approved this year on the management of 2009, said the program, in the area of health influence in the Hospital, "hasn’t had any administrative employees for 4 years", so doctors have to "do certain tasks wasting hours of professional work", despite having little health personnel. Moreover, the AGCBA said, "there are no designated nurses" who attend schools to "improve accessibility for adolescent vaccination." Even though, "there are appointments pending" they are currently "delayed".

The program does not even have assigned a phone line, "an indispensable resource because it operates in constant contact with health centers and schools."

Dangers in the Hospital

The report argues that at the Piñero, "there are frequent acts of violence towards staff in the psychophysical ward" and also "thefts were committed to ambulances, drivers, and physicians who were in them." In this sense, the report states that the security provided "is not enough to guard the personnel, property of the hospital, and health centers."

The audit explained that in the Hospital "two types of services converge, a private security company, Briefing SA, and another provided by the Federal Police." For the first case, the audit warned that the Hospital directors "have no bearing on the company’s conduct." Indeed, the auditors added that authorities at the Piñero "do not know the conditions under which the security services must be met because they do not have a copy of the contract.”

The report of the federal watchdog explained that "the service (security) is coordinated by the Directorate General of Security and Custody Assets, under the Ministry of Justice and Security of CABA."

Moreover, in health centers, there are private security personnel and federal police. In this case, besides Briefing Security SA, Yusion SRL and Comahue SA are also working the premise. The AGCBA said that "this is a service that needs to be reinforced or expanded given the low level of security."

More Information

The report states that "the 41.50% of the inhabitants of districts 7, 8, and 9 - have basic unsatisfied needs" and that "the highest rates of unemployment across the City are recorded in those areas." In sector 8, "over 40% of the population has only public health coverage" and has "the highest number of teenage mothers from ages 15 to 19."