The Administration of State Health Services (ASSE) and the University of the Republic (Udelar) signed an agreement that offers guarantees for users and officials, because “it improves the quality of their care,” said the interim president of the public provider of health, Marcelo Sosa. The agreement includes the repair and maintenance of biomedical equipment, as well as the training of human resources in this area.
The agreement involves joint work between ASSE, the Maciel Hospital Support Commission and the Udelar Faculty of Engineering, through the Ricaldoni Foundation.
In addition to Sosa, the director of the hospital, Aníbal Dutra, the dean of the Faculty of Engineering and president of the Julio Ricaldoni Foundation, María Simón, and the member of the Support Commission, Homero Bagnulo, attended.
The hospital center has some 300 units of biomedical equipment, with an approximate value of 200 million pesos. Annually, these devices involve about 10 million pesos in maintenance.
According to Sosa, the agreement guarantees maintenance and repair. Likewise, he stated that he will be a guarantor of the good quality of the service.
These instruments require calibration, maintenance and, eventually, repairs, as well as training for those who use them. These activities are normally planned, coordinated, supervised, controlled and evaluated by engineers, and executed by technicians.
For these purposes, the agreement provides that the Support Commission hires students from the Faculty of Engineering and technicians in biomedical engineering. In addition, professors, assistants and assistants from the faculties of Medicine and Engineering will participate, under the coordination of the Nucleus of Biomedical Engineering (NIB).
In this sense, the hospital center will facilitate the practice and learning of the students and the Support Commission of the Maciel Hospital will finance positions of interns and residents.
The NIB is an academic structure with experience in the design and development of biomedical equipment, medical information systems, with special expertise in maintenance management.
In his speech, Simón highlighted the possibility offered by the training agreement in the area and the intention to extend the scope of the agreement to ASSE.
Meanwhile, Bagnulo stated that the support commission will be able, based on the agreement, to access the history of the equipment, preventive maintenance and professional follow-up.
