WILLEMSTAD - The Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) has successfully recruited six additional surgical assistants, enabling the hospital to resume a full operating room schedule in its seven operating theaters.
The hospital has been facing increasing waiting lists for some time due to a shortage of specialists and a significant rise in the number of patients over the past three years.
CMC is committed to delivering efficient healthcare services and is proactively working to address these waiting lists. Long waiting times for outpatient appointments have been a concern, especially in specialties such as Ophthalmology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine, Pulmonology, Urology, and Neurology.
Departments
For instance, the Neurology department had a waiting period of more than six weeks for patients due to the departure of two specialists earlier this year. Ophthalmology suffered from a shortage of eye doctors.
Additionally, local specialists have decided not to return to Curaçao due to downward adjustments in salaries. They are not willing to work at CMC for less pay.
The Orthopedics department saw a specialist retire, and the Cardiology department witnessed an alarming increase in patients with cardiovascular conditions. This is due to the Curaçao population experiencing a significant rise in high blood pressure cases. At present, approximately half of Curaçao's population is dealing with high blood pressure.
Internal Medicine also faces challenges related to diabetes. Nearly one in three people in Curaçao has diabetes.
Until the end of September this year, CMC has admitted almost fifteen thousand patients, with an average length of stay of almost three days.