Trauma unit at Algeciras hospital to be closed over holidays

Unions criticize the 'imposition'
Aimed at avoiding overtime and holiday pay

Punta de Europa Hospital

ALGECIRAS -- The Andalucía Health Service (SAS, Servicio Andaluz de Salud) has decided yet again to close the Trauma Unit at the Punta de Europa Hospital over the holidays -- from December 20 to January 9 -- ostensibly because there is usually little activity during this period. On enquiry, the district authorities (Área de Gestión Sanitaria del Campo de Gibraltar) pointed out that other units will be reinforced and beds will be reserved for use if necessary.

The CSIF union raised the alarm over the temporary closure, declaring that it rejected the measure that will lose 27 of the available beds. It pointed out that patients and staff will be transferred to the Surgery Department. This was rejected out of hand two years ago as the result of adverse reports from the Preventative Medicine that pointed out the 'potential risks' possible when two separate services were brought together on the same floor. Now, says the union, the decision is 'imposed' on them.

More closures?

The union fears that this temporary measure may be extended, as happened with Pediatrics (on the third floor), which was to close for two months over the summer but is still out of service. "It is being dismantled," said a CSIF spokesperson. A similar thing occurred with the Intermediate Intensive Care service, which is operating at 50%, occupying 10 of the 20 beds available to it.

The union says that they are working at the lowest possible personnel levels, that staff is 'tired, demoralised; these cutbacks are becoming a dangerous routine, creating impossible situations for the professionals and patients of the area."

CSIF found out about this latest measure through workers of that department; they should have been consulted 'officially' as union representatives. Nevertheless, they did manage to meet with hospital management to express their abject rejection.

In an allied complaint, CSIF reported that the district health authorities 'have not been covering staff absences, retirements and such for months, which overloads staff and does not allow for fundamental rights'.

More union complaints

Another union, FSP-UGT, also rejected the supposedly temporary closure of the Trauma Unit, complaining that the measure is aimed at not having top create new contracts to cover the holidays and that Trauma staff will be used to cover other units beyond their job descriptions.

An FSP-UGT spokesperson said, "The number of programmed interventions carried out by these two services during the holiday period hardly varies, so we have to ask where the patients are to be located when there are 27 less beds available."

This union also complained about the lack of new contracts being made by the district authorities, adding that their professional staff carry out their duties despite the enormous cutbacks being experienced.