Ecuador's medical union on alert to the dismissal of more than 1,000 health professionals

Published at: 15/04/2026 03:04 PM

The Ecuadorian Medical Federation expressed its rejection of the disengagement of more than 1,050 health professionals on Wednesday, a measure that aggravates the structural crisis of the public system.

The union warned that these mass layoffs respond to a policy of adjustments that seriously compromises the operational capacity of healthcare centers across the country, Telesur said.

The reduction in staff is being implemented progressively and mainly affects workers with occasional contracts and temporary appointments. To date, local reports confirm that at least 150 specialists have already been dismissed from their positions, which has generated deep concern among unions about the weakening of the national hospital network.

Santiago Carrasco, president of the Medical Federation, said that this decision is contrary to the principles of equity and quality of care. The departure of these professionals causes an immediate saturation of medical services, in addition to increasing health risks for the population and generating an unsustainable workload for staff who are still in their posts.

This situation is framed in the context of deep budgetary cuts applied by the Government in the health sector in recent years.

The lack of job stability and the reduction of human talent in critical areas complicate the response to citizen demand, leaving thousands of patients in a situation of vulnerability in the face of an increasingly fragmented system.

Mazo News Team