The Association for the Defense of Public Health in the Canary Islands has transferred to the Prosecutor's Office the situation of the waiting lists in the Canary Health Service, so that "it investigates if the delay generated and its consequences constitute a crime," as reported through a statement. The group has pointed out that "the scandalous waiting lists" in the Canary Health Service has become a "determining factor in the deterioration of health and quality of life of thousands of Canarian men and women, even leading pathological processes towards irreversibility and with the consequence of death or serious chronification."
These waiting lists occur both for surgical interventions, as well as for diagnostic tests and consultations with specialists and have been increasing "in the last four years as a direct consequence of the austerity policy carried out by the Canarian Government", according to this association. For this reason, it has asked the population to report these waiting lists to the Duty Courts, the Prosecutor's Office, the Health User Defense Office and the Deputy of the Common who, according to the group, assured in Parliament that it was striking that "the number of complaints was not in accordance with the reality of the mismanagement reflected in the large lists".
The group has demanded that the Ministry of Health address "immediately the solution to the waiting lists", improve the management of public centers and modify the austerity policy that "from 2008 to the present has reduced the budget by more than 500 million". To this, in addition, we must add "a real reduction of 218 million for 2013 of the Canary Health Service". It has also recalled that in the personnel chapter there has been a reduction of 2,000 jobs.
"They suspend interventions, even oncological ones"
The Association for the Defense of Public Health in the Canary Islands has lamented that with the closure of operating rooms in the afternoon, the waiting time for operations has reached "double" the state average. In addition, it has criticized the decrease in staff due to uncovered retirements, the paralyzed works in health centers and regional hospitals, has questioned the programs and services, especially the surgical ones, where "interventions are suspended, even oncological ones, due to lack of materials." It has also criticized the suspension of consultations with specialists.
In this same sense, it has lamented the lack of places in non-urgent health transport, which "leaves many disabled patients unable to attend scheduled consultations every week".
For this association, they are reaching the "dismantling" of public health "aimed at its privatization", as is the case of the maintenance service. The staff of this service will hold a camp in the esplanade of external consultations of the Hospital of Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín, for 24 hours, starting this Tuesday, the 16th, at 9:00 am.
In this way, the workers will protest against "the absurdity of privatization=corruption, since the technical and administrative specifications are being finalized for the award to a multinational of this private health business".
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