The health situation in Lanzarote is deficient. For this reason, and to follow the progress being made in this area, the Cabildo has approved the creation of an Island Health Board in the plenary session held this Friday.
On the other hand, the spokespersons of the First Corporation will meet next Monday to add to the institutional declaration on the health situation of the Island all the proposals presented this afternoon in the plenary session. In addition, the possibility of assuming a parliamentary power to propose an Urgent Measures Law in this matter will be discussed. This point has been proposed by Alternativa Ciudadana, since they consider that through this mechanism that the Cabildos have, this rule can be proposed "without being rejected", said the councilor of Alternativa Ciudadana, Pedro Hernández.
Course
The monographic health plenary has tried to collect the feelings of social and medical groups on the Island about the health situation. To this end, the president of the Association of Oncohematological Families of Lanzarote (AFOL), Carmen Arrocha, the president of the Association of Kidney Patients, Jesús Fernández, the representative of the medical unions, Marisa Martín, and the island director of Health, Juan Manuel Sosa, spoke first.
Carmen Arrocha and Jesús Fernández have spoken on behalf of all the associations about the problems that patients face every day. In this sense, they demand a hospital that has the necessary technology to end the transfers of patients to the reference centers of Las Palmas and Tenerife. Secondly, they consider it necessary to reinforce the health personnel to have both specialists and the rest of the professionals necessary to meet all the demand of Lanzarote. Along with these two major requests, they have requested other improvements related to ambulances, patient confidentiality or the home palliative care service.
From the point of view of associations and institutions, they demand aid, cooperation, having a technical group specialized in health in the Cabildo or allowances "like those of politicians" when moving to other islands.
Finally, Marisa Martín has stated that the main issue of concern among professionals is job instability. For this, they have requested the resolution of the extraordinary Public Employment Offer as well as the call for these competitions periodically. They also request intervention in deficient services such as laundry or the development by the Canarian Employment Service of a framework statute in which, among other aspects, double insularity is recognized. Finally, they request that primary care be reinforced.
Discrepancies
The main reason for disagreement in the plenary, which in fact has provoked protests from some of the numerous attendees who have attended this session representing the different associations, has been the intervention of the island director of Health. During his speech he tried to respond to the numerous complaints raised by the representatives of the associations and the medical union group. Thus, Juan Manuel Sosa has spoken of the investments of the Government of the Canary Islands in this matter for the Island or of the waiting lists of which he has assured that they are the lowest in the Canary Islands with 805 people as of December 31, 2005.
However, the island director of Health has acknowledged that there are problems although work is being done to solve them. This is the case of the responses that are being sought to the situation of La Graciosa or the operation of a unit for cancer patients in San Bartolomé. Finally, he pointed out that some of the causes of these problems are in population growth, in the arrival of foreigners who come to be treated within our health system for having more free services than in other countries or the lack of doctors. Thus, he concluded his intervention assuring that if they present him with the curriculum of a doctor "in twenty-four hours I hire him".
Parties
Finally, the representatives of the political parties of the opposition as well as the government group have intervened. In all cases, the numerous problems already mentioned that affect the Island in this matter have been repeated. Thus, in addition to the proposal of Alternativa Ciudadana, the Party of Independents of Lanzarote has pointed out that the powers of health are in other institutions "although the Cabildo must collaborate with them", said its representative Plácida Guerra.
For its part, the Popular Party has urged the creation of the aforementioned Island Health Board. In addition, they have insisted that this plenary should have been held before the approval of the budgets of both the Government of the Canary Islands and the State, "since the proposals related to investments can no longer be modified", said its spokesman Francisco Cabrera.
Finally, the Government group, for which the Councilor for Health, Manuel Fajardo, has been chosen as spokesperson, highlighted the problems of lack of specialists and deficiencies in infrastructure. However, Manuel Fajardo emphasized the amendments to the budgets that have achieved better items for the Island "although we are not entirely satisfied". In this sense, the head of Health has assured that they will continue working so that the needs of Lanzarote are known and have a response from both the regional Executive and the central Government.