Ángeles Cruz Martínez
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, January 6, 2026, p. 16
In the health centers and hospitals run by IMSS-Bienestar in Mexico City, the supply of supplies for hand washing and hygiene for health personnel and patients’ families is insufficient and in many cases does not exist.
“If things go well, we have a bottle of liquid soap that should last us a week, but that is not always enough,” workers said.
In other cases, in the sinks for medical and nursing staff there is a plastic bottle with detergent “of an unknown brand” that sometimes irritates the skin, “but if there is nothing else, all we have to do is use it or bring our own soap.”
In this regard, IMSS-Bienestar reported that the supply of liquid soap, paper towels, antibacterial gel and other consumables is guaranteed, as it is part of the Comprehensive Cleaning Service 2025 provided by seven companies distributed among the 23 entities where the organization operates.
He added that the contract includes daily supply of toilet paper, interfolded or rolled towels, hand soap and deodorants in sanitary centers and common use areas. Compliance with obligations is verified in visible supervision logs, the agency said.
He indicated that this service includes medical areas, including operating rooms, intensive care, spaces for isolated patients, laboratories, blood banks and pharmacies.
However, in hospitals in the country’s capital, this newspaper verified the lack of supplies for hand washing, essential to prevent infections during medical care.
Some workers interviewed mentioned that during the Covid-19 pandemic, specialized companies were contracted to provide soap and paper dispenser services for hospitals. “We weren’t missing it due to the health emergency,” but as soon as it ended, the same thing happened with the agreement. The supplier collected his materials and did not return.
This situation has been “normal” for a long time, since without explanation, the contracts of providers who for around 10 years offered the service in some medical units ended in 2023 and were no longer renewed.
Surgeons stated that this puts them at risk because “if the patient presents a serious complication and the family members file a lawsuit, the possibility could be detected that we have not complied with the hygiene protocol before entering the operating room.” For this reason, they added, they prefer to buy soap with their own pocket in case it is not available when they are going to do an operation.
The situations are varied in clinics and hospitals and go to the extreme –exposed by some interviewees– of an administrator who sanctioned security guards who arrived late or were absent from work by handing out a liter of liquid soap for hand washing. “It was strange because the medical unit is supposed to have a budget allocated for that purpose.”
In turn, IMSS-Bienestar pointed out that under the comprehensive cleaning services contract, the provision of supplies is carried out based on the requests of each medical unit, in coordination with the Head of Services and the State Coordination.
Meanwhile, the organization’s General Services Coordination indicated that “availability may vary when units use products destined for other areas, so the supply must be adjusted to the actual reported use.”
