17 children from JM de los Ríos were evicted from La Orquídea hotel

Relatives of patients reported that the Ministry of Health owed the free hosting center two months of payment 

A total of 17 children receiving medical attention at the José Manuel de los Ríos Hospital were evicted yesterday along with their mothers from the La Orquídea hotel, one of the four free lodging centers that houses the relatives of pediatric patients from the interior from the country. 

The mothers of the patients said that the order was handed down on Friday by Prismar Piñero, one of the officials working in the citizen's office, a subsidiary attached to the Ministry of Health that closed its doors on Thursday and was in charge of administering the economic resources granted by the entity to conduct examinations, provide treatment and guarantee food. 

Several relatives assured that Piñero gave them a deadline until 12:00 noon yesterday to move to another place. Family members staying in the hotels La Estrella, Lucas and Renovación extended the period until Monday, said one of the mothers who stayed at the hospital doors with her daughter, who is an oncological patient. 

 Yaibeth García comes from the town of Belén, Carabobo state, and stays at the Lucas hotel together with his daughter Darifer García, 9 years old. The girl was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017 and was operated in December. You need a biopsy to determine the behavior of the tumor and receive medication as soon as possible. "The closure of the attention office paralyzed its improvement process, it is without treatment. They will evict us on Monday and we have nowhere to go. Why do they hurt these children so much? " He said that in the four shelters there are 50 mothers who will stay in the street. 

Another of the mothers who asked not to be identified, is a native of the Delta Amacuro state and is part of the family group that was evicted yesterday morning from the La Orquídea hotel. Your eight-month-old baby has hydrocephalus and a Klippel hemangioma, an abnormal mass of tissue that occurs in blood vessels. "I do not have anything to go to another place. He needs to continue his treatment with steroids and in addition a hemangioresonance that costs 50 million bolivars must be performed. " 

He indicated that they have not received a response from the ministry or from the health minister, Luis López, who was notified through a letter and several audios of the situation since Thursday, when the state care office closed. "The only thing we know is that the ministry had two months without canceling the hotels. No authority has explained exactly what happens. " 

Rosaliz Diaz, one of the spokespersons of the relatives and mother of a 10-year-old boy who suffers from chronic renal failure, indicated that the minister has ignored all the calls for attention. "We do not feel outraged and humiliated by the way they are hurting these children. They refuse to face us and we demand an answer, "he said.

With the closure of the citizen service office, the supply of daily food rations and nutritional supplements was paralyzed. A group of mothers and relatives were mobilized to obtain donations of food through various institutions. Arepa, bread and food were distributed to the children during a meeting inside the hospital.