En febrero de 2016 me enfermé por primera vez aquí en Chile. Fui a varios hospitales y no me pudieron atender, ya sea porque la especialidad que allí brindaban no era la que necesitaba, y también por el tema de horario. Finalmente llegué a un hospital público y con pasaporte me atendieron como turista. Me salió más de 23.000 pesos la consulta básica y esperé más de una hora para ser atendida, ya con el médico le manifesté mis síntomas, y él me dijo que allí no me podían atender porque estos exámenes no lo hacían, esto me molestó, me sentí engañada porque antes de pagar la consulta el cajero me aseguró que podía ser atendida, pero al fin no. Lo bueno, con la firma del encargado del hospital, el cajero finalmente me devolvió el dinero. Lo malo, no me atendí, y tuve que ir a un laboratorio particular. Ya cuando tuve mi carnet de identidad, me inscribí al consultorio y fui atendida. En conclusión, lo que pido es que los funcionarios de los centros médicos informen adecuadamente a los pacientes extranjeros para que ellos puedan saber donde ser atendidos y no sentirse frustrados a no encontrar una solución, ya que la salud es un derecho de todas las personas y debe ser respetado.

-Mujer, peruana, 23 años

In February 2016, I got sick for the first time in Chile. I went to several hospitals, but they couldn’t deal with my problem, because they didn’t offer the specialty care that I needed, and also due to issues with scheduling. Finally, I went to a public hospital and with my passport, they gave me appointment under the status of “tourist”. A basic doctor’s visit cost more than 23,000 pesos, and I waited more than one hour to see him. When I saw the doctor, he told me that there they couldn’t help me, because they didn’t do the exams that I needed. This annoyed me. I felt cheated, because before paying for the visit, the cashier assured me that they would be able to offer me care for my problem, but in the end, they couldn’t. The good thing was that with the signature of the hospital director, the cashier finally returned the money I had paid. The bad thing is that they didn’t address my problem, and I had to go to a private laboratory for the test. After I got my Chilean identity card, I registered in the public health care system, and they saw me. In conclusion, what I ask is that the workers in health care centers adequately inform foreign patients regarding where they can get medical care, so that they don’t feel frustrated with not being able to find a place to receive the services that they need. Health is a right for all of us, and it should be respected.

-Female, Peruvian, 23 years old