Son Espases chief: minister stays silent on quit calls

Mallorca’s Son Espases hospital chief Cristina Granados faces opposition calls to resign after Health Minister Manuela García stopped short of explicitly backing her in Parliament in Palma on Wednesday, 9 September. PSIB deputies Mercedes Garrido and Patricia Gómez attacked the hospital’s management and raised concerns about PET-TAC scans. García instead defended her department’s record and accused the opposition of misrepresenting the situation.

Garrido asked whether Granados still had the support of García and Balearic President Marga Prohens. She pointed to the resignations of several hospital figures amid allegations of humiliation, disrespect and aggression against the manager, as well as what she called soaring waiting lists and overwhelmed emergency services.

PET-TAC scan dispute

Gómez said cancer patients were worried by fewer PET-TAC scans because of a shortage of technicians. She said reports from the service were being produced with a three-month delay, warning that this could affect whether a cancer could be operated on.

García dismissed the criticism as demagoguery. She said Son Espases had carried out 1,400 more PET-TAC scans during the current term than in the previous one.

The minister said the service has ten professionals but has recently faced staff absences and a secondment. Her department has started a plan to recruit staff and schedule extra activity, she added. García also said a professional decides whether each requested PET-TAC scan is medically appropriate, accusing Gómez of challenging a clinical decision with political arguments.

Minister points to health record

García said the previous Socialist-led government had left long waiting lists, low surgical activity, no investment and precarious conditions for staff. She said her administration had added allergy services, a stroke unit and expanded paediatrics.

She also cited an 8% rise in staffing, 20 million more in investment and the consolidation of advanced therapies. García accused the PSIB of using the health service as a smokescreen for corruption and failures in other crises.

Topics: Strikes · Health · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com