VHeadline News Editor Patrick J. O'Donoghue reports: President Chavez has sketched an outline on current health facilities in Venezuela as part of his efforts to rectify errors and failings and re-boot the whole national health system that has been flagging for some time.

At the moment, he said, there are 545 rehabilitation rooms with a target of 600 before the end of the year and 27 high-tech medical centers up and running.

Building on 65 centers that will be passed on to the Barrio Adentro II programme is advanced 91%.

Of the existing 500 CDIs, 125 have operating theaters representing 25% of the total number.

President Chavez admitted serious flaws in the Barrio Adentro II, which which needs more than 90 intensivist physicians to boost the current number of 137. The system also lacks 24 anaesthesiologists , six surgeons and 12 orthopedicians.

The President's claim to have invested resources in all public hospitals has been questioned by medical staff at the (Caracas) Lidice Hospital. Resident neuro-surgeon Eloy Perez calls Health Minister, Carlos Rotondaro a liar when the latter proclaimed an investment of (Bs.F) 300 million bolivares ... "we haven't received supplies for three months."

The doctor also alleges that the hospital is working at half its capacity through lack of surgical medical equipment and anaestologists.

A report from the Union Radio news agency said that employees and medical staff at the Jose Maria Vargas Hospital in Caracas are complaining about what they call negligence on the part of health authorities to provide supplies and benefit payments to staff.

The hospitals are facing another crisis with the recently introduced water rationing in Caracas. According to some doctors no policy has yet been defined or published on how to confront the crisis.

Patrick J. O'Donoghue
news.editor@vheadline.com