Peruvian doctors ended their national strike Tuesday following a 15-point agreement with Health Minister Hernán Garrido-Lecca. The president of the Peruvian Medical Federation, Julio Vargas, told daily La República that members of the doctors’ union unanimously voted to end the 21-day strike ahead of a meeting with Garrido-Lecca.
According to the daily, the agreement will amalgamate the different organs of Peru’s health sector under one system. The new system will reportedly include the health ministry, the health system for Peru’s military and police and Essalud, the public health insurance service. La Fuente added that doctors’ wages in the health ministry system will also improve.
The agreement follows tensions in the conflict which peaked on Monday. Doctors threatened to prematurely release patients from public hospitals in order to intensify their strike and increase pressure on the government. Garrido-Lecca responded by calling the plan an illegal act and threatened to file criminal charges against the doctors if they followed through.
