Intersindical Canaria has defended that the remodeling of the Insular Hospital of Lanzarote should be done "in phases" and that the health center should "maintain its work activity and assistance".
The union has described as "frivolous" and "irresponsible" the announcement made by the Minister of Health, Esther Monzón, when she announced its closure. "There are many doubts that have been generated in the workers and citizens of the island," she stated in a statement.
In this sense, she has pointed out that its closure "could also mean the loss of its specialization in geriatrics, unique in the Canary Islands and with an exceptional geriatric care model, the reduction of hospital beds and the disappearance of essential services for the elderly of Lanzarote".
Thus, they have added that Minister Monzón will have to "explain her determination to close the health center when other sources of the health administration suggest that the future will depend on the guidelines set by the Infrastructure Master Plan, included in the Strategic Plan 2025-2028 and commissioned to an external consultancy".
"Now they also talk about a matter of opportunity, because the annex building of the José Molina de Orosa Hospital is available, built for the care of emerging diseases, when, contradictorily, according to the Canary Health Service itself, the work on this annex building is not finished and has not been received, although there is a possibility that they will do so precariously," she continued.
Likewise, she recalled that in the reports that reveal the poor conditions of the Insular Hospital, which are from the year 2019, when it was integrated into the Canary Health Service, the technical services identified "structural deficiencies that affected the floor of the right wing of the main building that rests on a basement and whose beams were damaged". A consultant carried out a master plan to reform the Insular Hospital and sent it to the central services for approval, but, "six years after the integration, nothing has been done to improve it".
In addition to the reasons given and taking into account that it is a building inaugurated in 1950 and later declared a Site of Cultural Interest, Intersindical Canaria has defended that "in any circumstance, the facilities cannot and should not be completely closed or demolished. If necessary, and taking into account the alleged current fragility of the construction and the need for continuous maintenance, the Government of the Canary Islands, without further delay, has to carry out the preparation of a progressive conservation plan and prevent the building from collapsing or that abandonment and neglect end up destroying it".
From Intersindical Canaria they have defended that "what is appropriate is that, without abandoning the assistance activities, the integral reform of the facilities occurs in phases, with the partial, temporary transfer and return of users and patients that allows to improve the facilities, and the equipment, which will result in the improvement of the quality of care and working conditions. For this, it is an essential condition to maintain the public nature of all services, professional groups and the current workforce of workers".
