Two workers from the Mexican Social Security Institute were caught kissing in a care module in Mexico City, where several people were waiting in line to be attended to. The couple was exposed and harshly criticized on social media for neglecting their work and the IMSS beneficiaries, who were waiting their turn to be served. The recording went viral on various digital platforms.
In response to the controversy, the IMSS issued a brief statement rejecting the actions captured between the two workers at the Family Medicine Unit number 28. The institute indicated that it rejects this type of behavior and is committed to maintaining guidelines for the conduct that must be observed in the performance of assigned activities. Both workers have been sent to the Mixed Disciplinary Commission to follow the process established in the Federal Labor Law and IMSS regulations.
The situation of the workers kissing during working hours occurs amid protests from beneficiaries who have reported shortages in several clinics across the country, as well as inefficient care at the IMSS. The multiple delays in the consolidated purchasing process have generated the risk of shortages of medicines, devices, and medical supplies in the health sector.
Enrique MartÃnez, general director of the Pharmaceutical Institute of Mexico (Inefam), has alerted about the possibility of a new shortage of medicines in institutions such as the IMSS, ISSSTE, IMSS Bienestar, Marina, Pemex, and 21 other health institutions that depend on this bidding process. It will be known by the second quarter of 2025 whether this shortage will materialize, as there are still around 1.4 billion pieces of medicines, devices, and medical supplies to be awarded. It is expected that in the second phase of the purchase, they will be assigned to the more than 400 participating suppliers in the bidding.
