A resident of Lanzarote spoke this Tuesday on Radio Lanzarote - Onda Cero to denounce the situation he has suffered since a relative died last Monday, March 25 at noon and could not be buried until several days later due to "the lack of a forensic assistant on the island."
The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Las Palmas (IMLCF) has four forensic doctors in Lanzarote and first-class facilities, but only has one forensic assistant. This means that when the worker is on vacation or medical leave, the island of volcanoes is left without this necessary figure to assist medical personnel in performing autopsies.
To cope with the absence of the island's only forensic assistant, the IMCL normally sends a worker from Gran Canaria, but the lack of flights between the two islands during Holy Week made it difficult for this professional to arrive. Teo Fernández has denounced that it was not until Thursday that they performed the autopsy and on Friday when they were finally able to bury their loved one.
"This is a problem that affects us all. Next week we will forget about the claim we have filed, but in a month we will have a case like this again on the island," he highlighted in the morning show Buenos días, Lanzarote.
As La Voz has learned, in addition to Lanzarote's low resources, the island of Fuerteventura does not have any forensic assistants. Meanwhile, in Gran Canaria there are also difficulties and delays in performing autopsies or returning bodies to families.
