In full Andalusian pre-campaign for the elections of next May 17, the situation of the socialist candidate María Jesús Montero in the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) has returned to the center of political debate.
Information published this Monday exclusively by the newspaper ABC has focused on the nature of the position she obtained in the nineties and has generated questions about whether her condition of "doctor", as the PSOE of Andalusia refers to her, holds up.
An administrative position, according to ABC
According to ABC citing a resolution published in the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA) in 1994, Montero accessed a position within the Technical Group of Administrative Function of the Non-Sanitary Personnel Statute of the SAS, after a selection process convened in 1991.
The bases of that call established as a requirement to be in possession of a university degree, without requiring specific health training -although it is worth emphasizing that María Jesús Montero graduated in Medicine and Surgery- which placed the position in the field of hospital administrative management and not in clinical practice.
These types of positions, as explained by sources from the healthcare administration field to ABC, are linked to internal organization tasks, budget management, or service coordination, with no direct contact with patients.
Debate on the job title
The unknown arises from the way in which the PSOE environment has referred to that position at different times, even publicly linking it to the condition of "doctor" - as the publication on the social network X mentioned above states - something that contrasts with the administrative classification of the position recorded in the official documents.
The Andalusian PSOE defends on social networks that the candidate maintains the reservation of her position in the SAS, within the framework of her professional career prior to her state political career. However, the exact designation of that position has been the subject of political and media discussion.
Subsequent career in Andalusian healthcare
According to ABC, after joining the SAS in the nineties, Montero subsequently held various positions of responsibility within the Andalusian health system, including hospital management and director positions, some of them through free designation procedures.
His professional evolution within the regional administration later led to his leap into institutional politics, where he has held responsibilities in the health and economic fields in both Andalusia and the central government.