The Ombudsman has initiated proceedings ex officio after receiving complaints about the way in which the dismissals of health professionals are occurring in Primary Care centers in the Canary Islands, which coincide with the incorporation of staff derived from the public employment stabilization process.
A note from the Provincial Council indicates this Tuesday that positions are already being filled in different health centers, especially in pediatrics, which implies the dismissal of professionals who were performing their duties on a service commission, many of them with more than ten years of experience in the same position.
In some cases, the affected professionals have informed this institution, according to the press release, that they have found out they no longer hold their position by going to work and finding another person in their office or by noticing that their name has disappeared from the planning sheets, without having received prior official communication.
This way of proceeding leaves professionals in a situation of uncertainty about their job and shows a management that, in the opinion of the Provincial Council, does not conform to the basic principles of orderly and guaranteed administrative action.
Furthermore, consider that the absence of formal communication has direct consequences on the affected workers since, as there is no official notification of their termination, they continue to report to their workplace understanding that their employment situation has not been formally modified, which generates a scenario of prolonged uncertainty and growing unease within the teams.
He adds that the current situation is included in a previous conflict that was already transferred to this institution in 2022 by a collective of primary care family doctors and pediatricians with permanent positions.
At that time, more than 120 professionals formed a platform to denounce the absence of a transfer competition prior to the stabilization process, considering that this circumstance prevented them from improving their destination after years of service in the public health system.
Currently, the group of affected professionals stands at around 90 and, according to the Ombudsman, concerns about the development of the process remain.
The incidence of these situations is being detected in both provinces, with a special presence in that of Las Palmas.
Remember the note that this new action is added to the complaint already filed previously, which continues its course through the corresponding channels.
In this context, the Diputación del Común considers it necessary to focus on the way dismissals are being communicated, and conveys the urgency that they be carried out in a clear, formal, and guarantor manner.
Faced with these facts, the Diputación del Común considers it essential that any dismissal be communicated clearly, formally, and in an orderly manner, and that it be guaranteed that affected persons are aware of their situation with certainty and that situations of lack of protection are avoided.
Therefore, the institution will act ex officio to gather information and mediate with the competent administrations, with the objective that these practices are corrected and an adequate procedure is ensured in the communication of dismissals, in line with the principles of good administration.
The Ombudsman reiterates its commitment to the defense of citizens' rights and to the proper functioning of public services, especially in essential areas such as healthcare.
