Villa Mongrut de Essalud was created in May 2020 as an isolation center for those people suffering from COVID-19. Given the large number of patients who arrived every day, the lack of medical equipment and supplies emerged as one of the main problems. Faced with these needs, a small group of businessmen took a risk and rented the essential machinery that the place needed.
The contract was made with Essalud. Initially, payments arrived on time; however, as the months passed, the companies stopped receiving money for the services provided. 2020 passed, 2021 and 2022 is almost over and, to date, Social Security has not fully met its obligations. There are more than 10 suppliers who demand the delivery of the money that they lack, which, together, amounts to more than S / 26 million.
they lost everything
This group of small businessmen met in the provider service module. They attended daily to claim their payments and each day gave them different information, without receiving a clear answer. Seeing that it was not a particular case, they joined together and began to protest at the door of Essalud.
They were never attended to by any weighty authority, the files stagnated and progress returned to the starting point.
“It may seem to them that this budget can be saved, but we are small businessmen who have invested and can no longer bear a debt; Future money does not benefit us, but money now,” Jazmín Acosta, one of the businesswomen demanding payment from Essalud, explained to Perú21.
And he added: “There are businessmen who have already gone bankrupt and cannot even go to the module to claim because they have to work to pay, each case is one in particular. There are people who do not sleep, suffer from anxiety and others who have thought about committing suicide because they have no way to pay their workers, the banks or even their family”.
She and the other entrepreneurs provided rental services for medical equipment, secretion aspirators, electrocardiographs, pulse oximeters, radiant heat cradles, vital monitors, energy for the Villa, patient transportation, and ventilators.
In the specific case of Jazmín, Essalud paid her two orders for the rental of her equipment and, after that, nothing more. She had to go to Villa Mongrut to pick up her machines with the excuse of doing “maintenance” on them in order to have them back. Her other artifacts continue to be used at the Luis Negreiros Vega Hospital in Callao. “I told them that if they paid me, I was going to donate my equipment, the cribs are still used at the Negreiros hospital; The commitment was that in the year 2022 they would pay me, but they did not. I left my equipment with the hope that they will pay me, as a human being I cannot go and remove them because we are talking about the life of little ones, “said the businesswoman.
EsSalud responds
Given the mistreatment of this group of businessmen who saved lives during the pandemic, this newspaper sought Essalud’s defenses. The entity responded and stated that “the management of Aurelio Orellana has installed a working group (constituted) by the central management of Essalud to attend to and resolve the commitments acquired.”
In addition, they explained that the Orellana management “inherited” a series of inconveniences regarding the direct contracting of supplies, medical equipment, infrastructure, among others, from other managements, and that efforts are being made to solve the problems of these suppliers.
They also pointed out that during the week the payment of S/20 million was made to supplier companies that were in charge of the construction of modular hospitals.
The suppliers involved confirmed that they were contacted by the working group created in Essalud. “On Friday (25) they received us all, committing to resolve (our demands for payment) through commitments with dates.” The one who gave his word was the general secretary of Essalud, Jaime Delgado, who would have explained to them that through a committee that he would chair, the debts of the entity were going to be cancelled.
But, regarding the S/20 million, the suppliers indicated that none of those affected have received money, since that amount was for other companies. They hope that, as of this week, progress will be observed in what has been discussed with the authorities. We’ll see if they honor their word.
Keep in mind
- More scandals in Health. According to a report by Punto Final, the Ministry of Health would have hired staff in ghost jobs in Diris Lima Sur.
- Through a CAS COVID-19 selection process, officials were hired who would supposedly receive S/6,000 a month in salary. However, these workers indicated that they never held said positions.
- Now the victims cannot apply for other jobs because they appear as workers at Diris Lima Sur.
