The Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Directorate of the Lanzarote Health Area, held on Friday morning a meeting of the Island's Health Council, the highest body for participation of groups linked to the health sector, in the Assembly Hall of the Arrecife Civic Center.
From Health they point out that the meeting served to resume direct contact with the different associations and public institutions and to publicize the report of the Directorate of the Health Area and the Management of Health Services corresponding to 2020.
In that sense, the main actions carried out in the last year have been reviewed, among which the investments promoted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the acquisition of new equipment stand out. Likewise, the progress of the works in the radiotherapy bunker and the Hemodynamics Unit was reported and emphasis was placed on the new endowments, both material and human resources, that have been made in Primary Care.
Both the Management and the Directorate of the Area have agreed that one of the priorities to complete the health map of Lanzarote is the construction of the Argana Health Center and, for this, they assure that the next step is the drafting of the project, once the Arrecife City Council has approved in Plenary the transfer of land for it. For its part, the planned expansion of the Playa Honda Health Center was also noted.
From Primary Care, the incorporation of the children's Speech Therapy service was highlighted and "the planned expansion of the portfolio of services of the Lanzarote health centers is expected to incorporate new professionals such as physiotherapists and psychologists" was announced.
Health adds that another of the new services in Primary Care has been "the establishment of direct referral to Physiotherapy", achieving with this initiative to considerably reduce the waiting list in this area.
The Health Council also received detailed information on the work carried out by the Public Health team in the field of environmental health and food safety, such as the supervision of water production, the control of beaches and food industries.
The meeting was chaired by the Area Director, Noelia Umpiérrez, and was attended by the manager of the Island's Health Services, José Luis Aparicio, the director of Primary Care, Aniuska Sutil, heads of Public Health and representatives of the Island Council, the city councils of the Island, unions, associations and neighborhood and social groups.
Health Council
The Health Council is a citizen participation body that brings together representatives from both the Island Council and the different city councils, professional associations, patient associations, unions and neighborhood associations of the Island.
It is a collegiate body that performs advisory and consulting functions on issues related to health activities that take place within its demarcation. Contemplated in the Canary Islands Health Planning Law, they serve to make effective the participation of the different administrations and social agents in health activities, their adaptation to regulations and the social needs of the population.