No 896 Tuesday 7th - Sunday 12th December 2021
office@theleader.info
637 227 385
Keeping people safe and informed for over 17 years - The Costa Blanca’s oldest ‘FREE’ English language newspaper
he emergency department at Torrevieja hospital collapsed last week, with some patients having to wait more than 15 hours to be seen, whilst others were advised to find an alternative hospital for treatment.
T
The management have claimed that the collapse was "temporary" and due to "the lack of professionals, after the resignation of some of the doctors who provided their
services at the centre". They do not quantify how many have resigned since 15 October, when Ribera Salud lost the contract to run the hospital, returning it to public management, but point out that the substitution of doctors without specialty, which they say is the background to this situation, "has not been possible, since it would constitute an irregularity against current regulations". The management had to face a barrage of
criticism and public complaints from the works council, doctors from the hospital itself and patients, about the saturation of the emergency room on Wednesday and Thursday, with 36 patients pending admission, delays in the waiting room, after prioritisation, of more than 15 hours, and delayed tests, also due to lack of personnel, with a single doctor left looking after the entire A & E department at times.
Continued on Page 2