Never thought I was going to be placed in a situation like this: in the shoes of the doctor responsible for municipal health, back in my country, Perú
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2022
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Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
Resumen
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way of living on the planet and, in my case, revealed the fragility of primary care services to respond to a health emergency that mainly affected older adults. Upon obtaining my medical degree, I felt guaranteed to have the skills to be a primary care physician; however, the coronavirus gave me “a reality bath with the aroma of impotence, bewilderment, and abandonment.“ Contradictory provisions and regulations, absence of a continuous policy, poor leadership, insufficient resources, and mismanagement by the Ministry of Health. Scandals of possible corruption and vices in the processes of research studies on vaccines. Anti-vaccine strategies, screening tests without evidence. The reference hospitals without oxygen, intensive care beds, and the outpatient consultations of specialist doctors closed. A community that is organized and wants to help but does not have a clear technical guide. These are some of the things I have had to deal with as head of a municipal health program. Meanwhile, I watched helplessly as members of my community continued to die and become disabled. Learning from mistakes and horrors is our duty. I narrate this experience to contribute to being prepared for the next time. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.