The PSOE of Lanzarote has denounced that Oswaldo Betancort is condemning the island to a real health collapse with his silence, his passivity and his refusal to confront the Government of the Canary Islands to demand the resources that public health in Lanzarote and La Graciosa needs.
The general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote and congresswoman, María Dolores Corujo, has warned that the health situation has reached a critical level: the Doctor José Molina Orosa University Hospital is overwhelmed, staff are working with minimal resources and cuts continue to increase, and the Staff Board itself warns that there is not enough budget to cover substitutions.
“Lanzarote has an overwhelmed hospital, saturated health centers, exhausted professionals and patients who wait for months. Faced with this health emergency, Oswaldo Betancort remains silent to protect Fernando Clavijo and his party. His submission to the Government of the Canary Islands is being paid for by health workers and all citizens of Lanzarote and La Graciosa,” Corujo denounced.
Corujo referred to the pronouncement of the Staff Board of the Health Services of Lanzarote, supported by five trade union organizations —SEPCA, UGT, ASACA, Intersindical Canaria and SATSE—, which have demanded the resignation or immediate dismissal of the manager, Pablo Eguía.
The union representatives denounce the lack of dialogue, opacity in management, covert cuts in personnel matters and the existence of instructions to contain spending that would prevent adequately covering sick leave, vacations, permits and other absences for the remainder of the year.
“That five unions demand the dismissal of the manager should provoke an immediate response from the Ministry of Health. However, the Government of the Canary Islands remains immobile and Oswaldo Betancort hides again. He is more concerned with defending Coalición Canaria than with defending the right of the people of Lanzarote to receive decent health care,” Corujo said.
No money for substitutions in the middle of the year
The PSOE considers it especially serious that, when barely half of the year has passed, health professionals have been informed of budgetary limitations to cover substitutions.
Corujo has warned that this lack of foresight will have direct consequences on healthcare, especially during the summer, when staff vacations increase, as do healthcare pressure and the island's floating population.
“It's June and they already say there's no money. This means fewer professionals in health centers, less staff in the hospital, more workload, more delays, and more difficulties in attending to patients. This is the healthcare planning of Coalición Canaria and the Partido Popular for Lanzarote,” she criticized.
The socialist general secretary has denounced that the Government of the Canary Islands intends to sustain the healthcare system at the cost of exhausting its workers, forcing staff to assume an increasingly heavy healthcare burden.
“Professionals have been covering the Canary Islands Government's inability to manage with personal effort for too long. They cannot continue working impossible shifts, doubling workdays, and giving up labor rights to prevent services from paralyzing,” she stated.
“The deterioration is not accidental. It is the result of a healthcare policy that cuts resources, suffocates staff, and abandons islands that need specific attention. Lanzarote cannot continue receiving services calculated for a population that does not reflect the social, demographic, and tourist reality of the territory,” she added.
A completely overwhelmed healthcare system
Corujo pointed out that the collapse affects the entire island's healthcare system. The lack of resources in Primary Care increases pressure on the Molina Orosa emergency room, while hospital saturation makes referrals, tests, and patient follow-up in health centers difficult.
“Every part of the system is at its limit. When a person cannot get an appointment at their health center, they end up in the emergency room. When the hospital does not have sufficient means, waiting lists skyrocket. The result is an increasingly weakened public healthcare system,” she indicated.
The PSOE also reminds that Lanzarote bears an enormous floating population throughout the year, which considerably increases healthcare demand, without the Government of the Canary Islands adapting human resources, infrastructure, and funding to this reality.
“Lanzarote serves many more people than appear on the census register. This reality is known by the Government of the Canary Islands and by Oswaldo Betancort, but neither has adopted the necessary measures to correctly size the services,” Corujo has stressed.
“Betancort is Clavijo’s political shield”
The general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote has accused the president of the Cabildo of becoming Fernando Clavijo’s main political shield on the island.
“Betancort demands, protests, and launches campaigns when he can hold another administration responsible. When the Government of the Canary Islands is responsible, he lowers his head, remains silent, and abandons Lanzarote. His priority is to protect Clavijo, even if it means allowing our public healthcare to sink,” he has declared.
Corujo has insisted that the president of the Cabildo has the political obligation to publicly demand solutions, request an immediate increase in resources, and defend the professionals and patients of Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
“A president of the Cabildo must defend his island before any government. Betancort has renounced doing so because he prioritizes the interests of Coalición Canaria over the needs of Lanzarote,” he has added.
Immediate reinforcement and political responsibilities
The PSOE of Lanzarote demands that the Government of the Canary Islands guarantee the immediate coverage of all absences, vacations, leaves, and positions necessary to keep healthcare services fully operational.
It also calls for an extraordinary reinforcement plan for the summer, the stable incorporation of more professionals, the detailed publication of the execution of the budget allocated to personnel, and an explanation of the destination of the resources assigned to the Management of Healthcare Services of Lanzarote.
The socialists also ask that the Ministry of Health address the complaints from the Staff Board, urgently evaluate the continuity of the manager, and determine the corresponding responsibilities for a management that has lost the trust of a large part of the workers' representatives.
“Lanzarote cannot wait any longer. We demand resources, transparency, planning, and political responsibilities. Oswaldo Betancort must stop acting as Fernando Clavijo’s delegate and start acting as president of the Cabildo. Every day he remains silent, he contributes to the deterioration of our public healthcare,” concluded María Dolores Corujo.
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