The Minister of Health, Esther Monzón, stressed this Friday, April 11, during her speech in the Health Committee of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, that the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) guarantees adequate health care to migrants who arrive in a vulnerable situation to the archipelago.
Monzón emphasized the need to empathize with those who arrive to the islands in “harsh conditions, often risking their lives,” and defended that it is essential to guarantee them comprehensive health care and dignified treatment.
During her speech, she explained that since the beginning of the current arrival of migrants, the SCS has solely assumed the cost of assistance to these people who arrive, an expense that amounted to 26 million during 2024.
Likewise, she reiterated that the Government of the Canary Islands has repeatedly requested the Ministry of Health for the urgent need to obtain state funding, a request that has the unanimous support of the unions of the Sectoral Health Table.
“Assistance to migrants is not only a legal duty or a health issue,” said the Minister of Health, who stressed that this humanitarian commitment cannot be sustained solely by the autonomous community.
Resources deployed by the SCS
Esther Monzón detailed the material and human resources deployed by the SCS to guarantee dignified and adequate care for migrants arriving on the coasts of the islands.
Regarding material resources, she explained that first aid points have been implemented equipped with stretchers, thermal blankets, hygiene kits, rapidly absorbed food and everything necessary for immediate care.
Basic and Advanced Life Support ambulances have also been provided, as well as vehicles for the transfer of patients to health or reception centers and the resources of the Canary Emergency Service that always assists people upon arrival on the Canary coasts.
According to her, the SCS, in turn, has made all its hospital resources available when the clinical situation has required it, as well as emergency services, hospitalization beds, intensive care units and operating rooms. Regarding Primary Care, specific teams have been formed to monitor migrants, both adults and children, housed in Temporary Care Centers.
Monzón stressed, finally, that health personnel have been provided with protective equipment and translator personnel have been incorporated to guarantee adequate communication between professionals and patients.
