The Extremadura Health Service (SES) has allocated since 2023, coinciding with the start of María Guardiola's Government in the region, a total of 1.99 million euros to the improvement of hospital emergencies in the community. Of that amount, 1,375,901 euros have been directed to the acquisition of equipment and 621,505 euros to the execution of works and reforms in these services.
At the same time, since that date, the hospital emergencies of Extremadura have 107 more professionals, distributed in 46 doctors, 36 nurses, and 25 nursing auxiliary care technicians, which represents a notable reinforcement of the staff.
This was stated this Wednesday in the Assembly committee, in response to a question from the PSOE, by the managing director of the SES, Encarnación Solís, who emphasized that the hospital emergencies of the region "are today more reinforced than in the year 2023" and "have more professionals, better spaces, and more equipment."
However, she admitted that "there is work to be done" and assured that María Guardiola's Executive will maintain the same line of action, "creating positions, reinforcing staff, improving infrastructures, and incorporating technology," and that for this, it will continue "dialoguing" with professionals, addressing the "needs" of patients, and evaluating "permanently" the functioning of the services.
At the same time, she criticized the PSOE for, in her view, seeking to "keep a controversy about emergencies permanently open," based on specific episodes to try to convey an image of the situation of emergencies that, as she pointed out, "does not exist today."
"Emergencies are complex services, not in Extremadura, they are complex services throughout Spain. There are moments of high care pressure, difficulties in covering certain positions, and needs for improvement in some spaces and circuits, but we are not going to accept that an image of emergencies is projected that does not exist today, because that image does not represent reality," she stated.
In this line, she defended that "reality is demonstrated with facts, with professionals, with works, with equipment, with new care circuits, and with concrete improvements that directly impact patient care," and insisted that these actions are what María Guardiola's Government is promoting.
Criticism from the PSOE on the management of emergencies
For its part, the PSOE deputy in the Assembly, Isabel Gil Rosiña, has described as "disastrous" the health officials of the community regarding hospital emergencies and has warned that currently "fundamental problems" persist in these devices.
"The problem is neither with the professionals, nor with the equipment that is being renewed, nor with the budget that is allocated, but with the lack of management and capacity in decision-making," Gil Rosiña has pointed out, who has emphasized that, consequently, "not everything is going well" contrary to the message that, she said, the regional government maintains.
In this context, she recalled that the Medical College of Cáceres made a call to the SES this past summer regarding the situation of hospital emergencies in the city's hospital.
"It is not the solution to say that more staff is being hired. How is it being planned? How is the task being done?" Gil Rosiña has questioned, focusing on the organization and management of resources rather than on the number of hires.