While hundreds of people wait for a bed at the San Juan de Dios General Hospital, 12 patients remain hospitalized despite having been discharged because they do not have family members to receive them or a place to go.
These are three women and nine men who remain in the care center because they remain in a condition of abandonment. Some entered after being found on public roads, suffering accidents or suffering from serious illnesses. Others were referred by the Attorney General’s Office (PGN).
Although they no longer require hospitalization, they remain in the hospital because no one has come to claim them.
Social workers from the San Juan de Dios General Hospital explained that, when a person enters without identification, a protocol is activated to establish their identity and locate their relatives.
Patients are initially registered as “XX”. Subsequently, their fingerprints are verified with the support of the National Civil Police and, when necessary, the biometric system of the National Registry of Persons (Renap) is used.
Once identified, the staff looks for relatives, neighbors, municipalities and Community Development Councils (Cocodes). However, in many cases the efforts do not allow us to locate people who can take care of them.
Older adults and people with disabilities
The majority of abandoned patients are older adults whose ages range between 70 and 95 years.
In addition, the hospital cares for two people with physical and intellectual disabilities, approximately 30 and 38 years old, who have been hospitalized for more than six months while waiting to be transferred to a specialized home.
Although they receive medical care, the staff considers that they both require a space where they can receive comprehensive care and better living conditions.
The story of Aníbal Bolaños
Among the patients is Aníbal Bolaños, 66 years old, who was admitted on June 13 due to kidney disease.
For years he earned his income by selling razors, candy and chewing gum on the streets. He is currently receiving peritoneal dialysis while waiting to be transferred to a home that can provide care.
Aníbal said that he is an only child, he never started a family and that his parents and uncles died. He claims he has some cousins, but none of them visit him.
He explained that the only person who supported him was a friend who took care of him for some time before taking him to the hospital.
His wish, he says, is to find a place where he can continue his recovery without facing loneliness again.
Call to family
Authorities of the San Juan de Dios General Hospital called on family members, friends or people who may have information about patients who remain abandoned in hospitals to come forward and contribute to providing them with better care and an alternative care.
People with information can contact the telephone numbers 3070-8445 and 2321-9191extension 6039or write to the email work.social@hospigen.gob.gt.
*Stay up to date with the Now newsletter. Key information at the moment it happens. Subscribe here.