Loreto Maturana defended herself with a letter addressed to the Senate's Health Committee following her controversial departure from the San Antonio Hospital.

The Claudio Vicuña Hospital in San Antonio has faced a challenging period. While typically avoiding controversy, the hospital has been under intense scrutiny in 2026. This Monday, the situation escalated as the matter was brought before the Senate. Loreto Maturana assumed the directorship of the hospital in 2024, a role she held without major incident. However, everything changed in recent weeks following the appointment of Jeannette Vega, the former Minister of Social Development from the Gabriel Boric government, as the hospital's medical deputy director. After 72 hours, the Valparaíso-San Antonio Health Service requested Maturana's resignation, citing a loss of confidence and management issues, all amid questions surrounding Vega's appointment. In light of this, the Senate Health Committee held a session on Monday to discuss the matter. Attendees included the Deputy Secretary of Health Networks, Julio Montt; Maturana herself; the Valparaíso Medical Association; and a representative of the hospital's physicians who had resigned in solidarity with the former director. The Claudio Vicuña Hospital in San Antonio. Maturana did not attend the session. However, Dr. Ximena Parada arrived with a statement on her behalf, detailing the events and stating that "what happened on April 23, 2026, not only impacted my professional and personal life. It also forced me to deeply reflect on certain principles that I believed were inviolable within the state." She added: "My departure from the Claudio Vicuña Hospital was abrupt and unexpected. My superiors cited 'repeated errors in management,' and the Health Service publicly argued that my departure was necessary to 'ensure the proper functioning of the institution, strengthen the quality of care, and ensure management aligned with institutional standards and objectives,' as if the leadership during our tenure had been contrary to those objectives." Maturana continued, "Given that these were the public justifications for my departure, I honestly believe there is a significant gap between those statements and the reality experienced by the hospital during our tenure." Jeanette Vega. On the other hand, "I was never informed of a deficient management assessment, failure to meet goals, or technical concerns. On the contrary, the results achieved were visible and known to staff, users, and authorities," she stated. As director, Maturana argued, among other points, that "accepting this request felt like violating fundamental principles that have always guided my actions in public service: integrity, equal treatment, and the conviction that technical positions should be evaluated based on capabilities, not on affinities or circumstantial political considerations." The hospital's medical staff also participated, requesting that the Ministry of Health explain to the Senate why a decision contrary to the interests of the hospital and the population it serves was made, and that the Ministry reconsider the decision and reinstate Director Loreto Maturana. "The dismissal was because our director refused to give in to political pressure," they recalled to the committee. The medical staff also presented a statement emphasizing that "we want to be very clear about what these resignations mean and what they do not mean. They are not a threat. They are not a pressure tactic. They are not an ideological act; there are doctors with different political views among us. None of the doctors appearing before this Committee intend to abandon public health." "After presenting the facts and expressing our requests, we respectfully express to Minister Chomalí that she has the opportunity to act as the authority that examines the facts, evaluates them with a health and institutional perspective, and makes a decision that protects both the legality of the public system and the teams that support it," they concluded. Representing the Ministry of Health, Deputy Secretary of Health Networks Julio Montt explained the reasons behind Maturana's departure, reiterating that it was due to a "loss of confidence." "Basically, I want to reiterate that the interim director of the Health Service requested Mrs. Maturana's resignation due to a matter of loss of confidence, and that is what is currently in effect," the secretary added. The Ministry of Health official also clarified that the resignations of 20 doctors from the health facility have not yet been finalized. "All of these facts have not affected the care and functioning of the health facility," Montt asserted.