The PSOE denounces that Clavijo proposes a "different" Insular Hospital and Betancort remains silent.

The PSOE of Lanzarote has warned that the statements by the President of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, affirming that the Insular Hospital will have a "different" future from the current one, confirm "the concern expressed by thousands of people from Lanzarote in the streets: that the reform of the center will be used as an excuse to change its model and make it disappear as a geriatric hospital".

The general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote and deputy in Congress, María Dolores Corujo, has pointed out that "no one opposes reforming the Insular Hospital. Quite the opposite. What Lanzarote demands is that it be reformed to continue being the Insular Hospital, not to turn it into something else". "When Clavijo says that the Insular Hospital will have a different future and that it will not be as we conceive it now, he has the obligation to explain what exactly that means: what services will be maintained, what care model will be guaranteed, what will happen to the patients, and whether the elderly will return to the center with the same guarantees," stated Corujo.

The socialist leader has lamented that, in the face of statements of this gravity, Oswaldo Betancort "once again remains silent and acts as a delegate of Coalición Canaria instead of acting as president of Lanzarote".

"Clavijo already proposes a different Insular Hospital and Oswaldo Betancort remains silent and obeys. That is the reality. While more than 7,000 people took to the streets to defend the continuity of the only geriatric hospital in the Canary Islands, the president of the Cabildo has not been able to publicly demand a clear guarantee about its future," she denounced.

Corujo recalled that last June 20th Lanzarote witnessed a historic mobilization, called by the Plataforma Marea Blanca, to defend the Insular Hospital, a health and social resource with more than 75 years of history and deeply linked to the island's memory.

"Lanzarote did not take to the streets for Clavijo to decide a different future for the Insular Hospital from above. Lanzarote took to the streets to demand its continuity, its reform, its modernization, and the guarantee that it will continue to be the only geriatric hospital in the Canary Islands," she stressed.

The socialist general secretary insisted that "the debate is not between reforming or not reforming, but between reforming to strengthen the Insular Hospital or using the works as a pretext to empty it of content and change its nature".

"They say improve to avoid saying close"

“They say they are improving it so as not to have to say closing, and Lanzarote already knows that way of acting too well,” he pointed out. In this regard, Corujo recalled what happened with the island's funeral home, also closed under the argument of service improvement. “We already know what it means for Coalición Canaria to close a service to improve it. We saw it with the funeral home. First they talk about reforms, then about changes, then about new uses, and when the citizens want to react, the service has already disappeared. We are not going to allow that with the Insular Hospital,” he warned.

For the PSOE of Lanzarote, Clavijo's words worsen the uncertainty because they are not accompanied by a project, schedule, funding, or concrete guarantees about the continuity of the center as a geriatric hospital. “Lanzarote needs commitments: with budget, project, deadlines, and guarantees. It needs to know that patients will return to the Insular Hospital, that geriatrics will not be sidelined, that professionals will continue to carry out their work, and that the model will not be liquidated through the back door,” Corujo defended.

Corujo highlighted that the Insular Hospital “is not just any building,” but “a health, social, and emotional heritage of Lanzarote,” built over generations and a source of pride for the people of Lanzarote. “We are talking about our elders, their care, their dignity, and a profoundly human model. An island that defends its Insular Hospital is also defending a way of understanding public healthcare and the care of those who need it most,” he stated.

Corujo demanded that Oswaldo Betancort "stop hiding behind the Government of the Canary Islands and publicly demand from Fernando Clavijo the continuity of the Insular Hospital, its services, and its geriatric model."

“Oswaldo Betancort has to choose whether he is with Lanzarote or if he is with Clavijo. He cannot remain silent while the future of one of the most important and beloved resources of this island is decided. Silence is a form of complicity,” he affirmed.