The protocol will come into force on April 21.
Santo Domingo. – As part of the inter-institutional efforts to improve the management of public services in response to the current migration situation, the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) and the National Health Service (SNS) held the “Workshop on the Dissemination of Health Services Management Procedures for Foreign Patients.” This workshop aims to establish a joint protocol to organize and regulate care for foreign patients in health centers, based on legal, humanitarian, and operational criteria.
The meeting brought together regional and hospital directors of the NHS, administrative and security personnel, as well as immigration inspectors and agents, who learned about the guidelines of this new procedure, which seeks to strengthen coordination between the institutions responsible for public health and immigration control, while respecting both the national regulatory framework and the principles of international law.
The director of the NHS, Dr. Mario Lama, emphasized that the implementation of this procedure responds to the need to ensure equitable, orderly, and sustainable care in the public health system and is part of the immigration control protocol defined in consensus with the General Directorate of Immigration.
For his part, the Director General of Migration, Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, hailed the initiative as a key tool for advancing the implementation of a coherent migration policy that seeks to control irregular migration flows in our country while respecting the human rights of foreigners. He also urged the technical teams to implement the procedure with responsibility, sensitivity, and institutional rigor.
As part of the training process, a simulation of common scenarios in public hospitals was conducted to prepare teams for an appropriate, efficient response aligned with the new protocol.
This procedure will come into effect on April 21 and represents an important step in the effective coordination between health and migration, guaranteeing a comprehensive institutional response to the care of foreign patients in the country.
Communications Directorate