Mallorca hospital cuts surgery as 69 await admission

On Mallorca, 69 patients are waiting to be admitted from the emergency department at Son Espases University Hospital on Wednesday. The hospital cancels scheduled operations to ease the pressure, but cancer surgery and priority procedures go ahead. On Friday, 6 November, Balearic health minister Manuela García says hospitals will begin allowing patients to be discharged on Saturdays and Sundays.

García says respiratory infections and emergency visits have risen sharply. Hospitals usually see 475 emergency cases a day, she says, but the number has topped 500 on eight days. She rejects the suggestion that emergency departments have collapsed.

Most of the patients with respiratory infections have chronic illnesses or several conditions, García says. That makes their care more difficult and keeps them in hospital longer on average.

Until now, hospitals have not discharged patients at weekends. García says that adds to the pressure on Mondays and Tuesdays; weekend discharges are intended to free up beds. She says most patients who were in the hospital on Tuesday went to facilities for medium or longer stays, including Sant Joan de Déu and Hospital General. More hospitals for such care are already being built or planned, she adds.

Topics: Health

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com