Costa Rica Hospital Crisis: Patients Wait Eight Days for Beds as Emergency Departments Overflow

Patients requiring treatment for conditions including hip fractures, appendicitis and gallstones are facing prolonged waits for hospital admission and surgery in Costa Rica, with some spending several days in emergency departments because of a shortage of available beds.

The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), which formally guarantees access to medical care, is struggling to accommodate patients requiring inpatient treatment. Some have been left waiting on chairs, sofas and even the floor until beds become available in hospital wards.

Patients Spend Up to Eight Days Waiting for Admission

At San Vicente de Paúl Hospital in Heredia, some patients reportedly waited as long as eight days for a bed in a hospital ward.

In Liberia, one patient spent seven days sitting on a metal chair while waiting for surgery. Another woman who had undergone gallbladder removal chose to lie on the floor because she found a chair too uncomfortable.

At Calderón Guardia Hospital, elderly patients waited more than three days for geriatric care. One patient remained on a bed in the emergency department for several days while awaiting further care.

Overcrowded Emergency Departments Become Holding Areas

The shortage of beds and specialised medical personnel has contributed to congestion across emergency departments, according to the report.

Patients who require hospital admission or surgery remain in emergency areas until beds become available in the appropriate wards. This has resulted in emergency departments being used as temporary holding areas for patients who need longer-term treatment.

The prolonged waits have left patients receiving care in spaces not intended for extended stays.

CCSS Refuses Media Access to Major Hospital Emergency Units

The CCSS has denied newspaper La Nación permission to enter the emergency departments of México, San Juan de Dios and Calderón Guardia hospitals.

The institution said allowing journalists into those areas would be legally inappropriate. The refusal continued despite the CCSS publishing its own photographs showing patients in Liberia waiting on newly installed sofas.

Patients Face Long Delays at San Juan de Dios Hospital

Observations around San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José revealed further delays in access to treatment and information.

The family of a patient with a stomach ulcer waited from the following day for the patient to be assigned a hospital ward. Another woman spent ten hours waiting for information about a relative who had been admitted at 7 a.m.

A patient who went to the hospital for an assessment for thrombosis also waited five hours before receiving an ultrasound examination.

Patients Placed on Sidewalk as Hospital Reaches Capacity

The overcrowding extended beyond the hospital building, with eight patients reportedly remaining on hospital beds positioned on a sidewalk outside the emergency department at San Juan de Dios.

Security personnel confirmed that patients had been placed outside because of the lack of space indoors.

At least five ambulances arrived with patients within a single hour, according to the report. One patient was covered with a silver blanket used for open wounds.

The scenes highlighted the difficulties hospitals were experiencing in accommodating patients despite the country’s formal medical coverage arrangements.