Nueva Canarias (NC) Lanzarote presented this Thursday at noon the initiative 'Neighborhoods that take care of you', a project that, included in the canaristas' proposal of 'An Island That Takes Care of You', "proposes different solutions and alternatives to emergency services in terms of health care for the citizens of Arrecife", they point out from the party.
The appearance before the media, which took place from 12:00 hours at the doors of the Titerroy Health Center, in Arrecife, was attended by the Secretary of Social Welfare of Nueva Canarias in Lanzarote, Yoné Caraballo, and the candidate for Mayor of Arrecife by NC and, in turn, second deputy mayor of the capital City Council, Armando Santana.
"One of the fundamental premises of this 'Neighborhoods that take care of you' project, which the canaristas of the island have already transferred to the parliamentary group of Nueva Canarias for its proposal to Parliament, is precisely to avoid the saturation of the SNU (Normal Emergency Service) of Valterra, since, as of today, this is the 24-hour SNU that serves the most patients in all of the Canary Islands. In fact, as of today, and according to the professionals who directly provide these services, an average of 300 patients pass through the Valterra emergency room every day," NC points out.
300 patients daily through the Valterra emergency room
The latest data officially recorded by the Government of the Canary Islands date from the year 2015, "already then the statistics also reflected that the emergency services of the seaside neighborhood were the most used in all of the Canary Islands", they point out from NC. Thus, in 2015 Valterra was already the normal emergency service that received the highest number of users during the year, a total of 55,285, with an average daily care of up to 151 patients every 24 hours, ahead of centers in Gran Canaria, such as the SNU San José, with 48,748 users and an average of 134 patients per day, the SNUs of El Calero and Vecindario, with an average daily care of 129 and 128 patients in 24 hours, respectively, or from the island of Tenerife itself, with the emergency services of La Laguna and Los Realejos, with 41,056 and 38,395 patients per year, respectively, and an average daily of 112 and 105 users every 24 hours.
With this purpose, the canaristas propose opening a new emergency point in the Titerroy Health Center, an SNU that also operates 24 hours. "With this, the care burden would be distributed, and we would also bring health care closer to the neighborhoods on the periphery of Arrecife," Caraballo said during the appearance before the media.
In addition, within this 'Neighborhoods that take care of you' initiative, the canaristas propose that the new health center that the Government of the Canary Islands plans to build in Arga Alta "be designated as the third Basic Health Zone in Arrecife, and that it does not depend on the health center or the Basic Zone of Titerroy. In its day we already sent the proposal to the Parliament of the Canary Islands and the request was approved by the Minister of Health," said the Secretary of Social Welfare of Nueva Canarias in Lanzarote.
In fact, the canaristas recall that "months ago the Ministry of Health already announced that it would double the Health Zones of Arrecife, which, among other things, would allow the population center of Playa Honda, in San Bartolomé, to become independent and no longer depend on the Basic Health Zone of Titerroy".
Third Basic Health Zone
"The decision of the Ministry of Health was undoubtedly conditioned by the project developed by the Secretariat of Welfare of Nueva Canarias Lanzarote for the creation of this third Basic Health Zone in the capital. This ZBS will improve health care and the portfolio of services provided by the Canary Health Service (SCS) in the neighborhoods of Argana Alta, Argana Baja and Maneje," they point out from NC.
As the canaristas explain, the population density of Arrecife is currently around 65,000 inhabitants, comprising about 15,000 inhabitants only between the nuclei of Argana Alta, Argana Baja and Maneje. For the candidate for Mayor of Arrecife, Armando Santana, "the implementation of a third ZBS in the capital was more than a priority, given that the Titerroy Health Center maintains an excessive care burden, with more than 47,700 users". This project, they point out, "will facilitate the process of implementing the demanded Argana Health Center, but with much more capacity for care and health independence".
In the proposal that they have sent to the media, neighborhood associations and political parties, they reflect an infrastructure with similar characteristics to the Tinajo clinic, with the capacity to assist a population of about 15,000 residents. Similarly, they point out that the health personnel for this facility would be composed of: two nurses; a pediatric nurse; two doctors; a pediatrician; a social worker; two administrative assistants; a midwife, in shifts of 7 hours between 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
A second 24-hour pharmacy in Arrecife
Finally, the canaristas also propose the presence of a second 24-hour pharmacy, provided that the two resulting pharmacies are equidistant, one in the center of the city, and the other in the neighborhoods on the periphery of the capital. "The objective is none other than to once again improve accessibility to this service in the neighborhoods," Caraballo added.