On July 26, I had the honor of being appointed Director of the School of Health and Social Services of the Canary Islands (ESSSCAN) and, after a thorough analysis of the situation, I must express my optimism about the future of the institution from which there is important work to be done, which we face with a fantastic human team committed to the mission of successfully completing the enormous volume of work generated by training actions for employment, whether commissioned or own, as well as accreditations and recognitions of official status to training entities.
During 2020, the confinement led ESSSCAN to take measures to continue its main mission, the training of health and social professionals in our archipelago. Transforming face-to-face training into online training, and favoring the introduction of new tools, such as the use of the ZOOM platform. This transformation involved a great effort on the part of the staff, who had to adapt to changes in tools and work systems, while performing their duties.
Since then, the focus has been on optimizing work systems, not only to facilitate the daily tasks of its staff, but with the firm purpose of improving user service and being a benchmark for training quality. The importance of ESSSCAN lies in the fact that it is the institution responsible for guaranteeing the training and professional development of health and social personnel in the Canary Islands, which is essential to guarantee quality care for citizens.
My short-term challenge is to make ESSSCAN known, focusing on communication, to give visibility and transparency to the work we do in the service of our community.
While in 2020 the entity only had two social networks: Facebook and Twitter, in 2022 a channel was created on Telegram, and soon we will have new accounts operational on LinkedIn and Instagram, with content and information of interest to all our followers in a much more active way.
It should be noted that at the beginning of this year the website www.essscan.es was updated and now has a more visual and dynamic design than the previous one, being more intuitive and accessible for people who visit it. However, perhaps the most significant change will be seen next year, with the new virtual office, which is currently under development.
In recent years, there has been a major change in the health and social field, with the emergence of new technologies and the incorporation of new procedures and protocols. This has made it necessary for these professionals to keep their knowledge and skills up to date in order to offer the best possible care to patients.
In the Canary Islands, there is a wide range of training on offer in this field that can be provided by different entities, such as universities, health schools and vocational training centers. In this sense, ESSSCAN offers a wide range of training programs, from short courses to postgraduate programs that are aimed at professionals of all levels, from nursing assistants to medical specialists.
Currently, the management of courses carried out by ESSSCAN is carried out by a human team made up of administrative and technical staff, consisting of 12 people, who process different types of training; training for employment, commissioned training or own training.
Of the training for employment (continuous), aimed at the staff of the Canary Islands Health Service of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Rights, Equality, Diversity and Youth, from April to July, 179 courses have been carried out. There are still 196 courses to be carried out, 52% of the programmed training, which will resume in September and must be completed before the end of the year.
Without a doubt, this is an investment in the future of health and social services in the Canary Islands because, by providing professionals with the tools and knowledge they need, they contribute to facilitating care that is up to the standards that our citizens deserve and expect from us.
The training on demand, carried out from January to August, gives us very positive data, as we have executed 241 courses, although we cannot foresee the demand that will arise from now until the end of the year, hoping that it will be proportional.
This type of training has a great acceptance, since it is the means by which public or private entities improve the professional training of their staff, both in the health and social fields.
Regarding own training, eight courses have been carried out and another two are planned before the end of the year.
In summary, the training carried out to date in 2023 amounts to a total of 428 courses, without forgetting the importance of the other services offered by ESSSCAN, such as the accreditation of people and/or training centers, as well as the recognition of official status granted to different training centers.
If we take into account that the guarantee of a quality public health service is essential for the well-being of citizens and the solid training of the professionals involved ensures that patients receive accurate diagnoses and effective treatments, with the added benefit that a solid medical care system also contributes to the advancement of medical research.
I conclude by assuring that ESSSCAN will ensure to optimize its resources, incorporating new procedures and protocols, with the aim of offering a quality public health service, in terms of:
Offer adequate training for professionals, as it is a fundamental pillar to improve individual medical care, benefiting society as a whole by promoting health, safety and continuous medical research.
Promote continuing education to keep professionals up to date with the latest trends, technologies and procedures, which translates into more up-to-date and efficient care.
Coordinate and facilitate training projects for professionals so that they can participate in research and clinical trials, promoting innovation and the development of new therapies and treatments.
