Mallorca: 71 await beds as specialist waits jump
Mallorca’s Son Espases Hospital has 71 people waiting in its emergency department for admission on Tuesday, 3 November, opposition politician Patrícia Gómez says. Across the Balearic Islands, the wait for a first specialist appointment has risen by 50%, health minister Manuela García tells parliament. The two figures have set off a dispute over what is causing the delays.
Strike blamed for longer specialist waits
García blames the doctors’ strike and Pedro Sánchez’s government. She says the strike has forced three million people across Spain to have appointments rearranged, while health services in the Balearic Islands have had to handle more than 80,000 cancellations.
PSIB politician Amanda Fernández says García keeps pointing to the situation her government inherited, a rise in health card numbers and the strike. Lluís Apesteguia of MÉS per Mallorca says people now wait 20 days longer to see a specialist than they did a year ago.
Patients await admission at Son Espases
Gómez says the 71 people are waiting for admission despite there being no epidemic phase, doctors’ strike or population increase. García thanks emergency staff for dealing with higher demand and says she regrets it if anyone has to wait longer than they should. She says her government’s work has brought more health professionals, more services and better waiting times.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com