The Minister of Health, Antonio Gómez Caamaño, has defended that health services, including the Servizo Galego de Saúde, only resort to qualified doctors without specialization in very specific situations and for "exceptional causes" in order not to "close services".
He stated this Wednesday during the plenary session of the Parliament of Galicia, in response to the BNG deputy Montse Prado. The nationalist parliamentarian has criticized the Xunta's health policy, especially for the summer period, and has deplored that one of the "star" measures is the hiring of doctors without MIR training specialization.
"The PP, once again, instead of taking measures to guarantee that there are professionals, attributes everything to Madrid being to blame for not sending them doctors," denounced Prado, reproaching that the Sergas "hires more and more professionals without specialized training" when "for 31 years it has been mandatory to work in the public health system."
In his response, Gómez Caamaño stressed that Galician healthcare, like the rest of the National Health System, suffers from a "structural deficit of medical professionals." He insisted that "the main tools" to reverse this situation depend on the Ministry of Health, as it is "the one that accredits teaching units, authorizes specialized health training exams, and regulates specialties" and "must authorize the homologation of specialist degrees."
In this context, he pointed out that "when there are no professionals available to cover certain absences or care needs," the Administration's obligation is "to organize existing resources to ensure that citizens continue to receive healthcare."
"That is the difference between making policy from reality or from the banner," replied the minister, who guaranteed that the Galician government "will not leave citizens without care."
"We are not going to close services or abandon municipalities because the Ministry did not do its homework on time and did not adopt measures to offer solutions to the deficit of primary care professionals as it should have."
Gómez Caamaño has highlighted the Xunta's effort to attract new physicians by approving the largest offer of specialized health training in the community's history. He stressed that, with the 725 positions approved, the Galician government is offering 100% of the accredited positions in key areas such as family and community medicine, pediatrics, and the new specialty of emergencies and urgent care.
Furthermore, he emphasized that the Xunta is demanding more MIR positions from the central government, faster homologation of medical degrees, the possibility of voluntarily extending activity until age 72, and effective planning of the professionals the system needs.
PAC of Moaña (Pontevedra)
In the same plenary session, the BNG deputy Paulo Ríos conveyed the complaints of the residents of Moaña to the minister, who are demanding the reopening of the Point of Continuous Care (PAC) closed six years ago. "We see the health center open and there are nothing but lies and lies, deceptions when they try to pass off an ambulance as a PAC," he stated.
The head of Health responded that the Xunta guarantees healthcare in the Municipality of Moaña "it always has" and that this is the case with the launch of the new health center, which, as he indicated, represents the largest healthcare investment in this municipality, with an expenditure of 9.6 million euros, to which 400,000 euros are added for the renovation of the Domaio clinic.
Regarding urgent care, he assured that the inhabitants of Moaña have "urgent care seven days a week, 24 hours a day" and that "there is a specific device to guarantee urgent healthcare with a doctor and a nurse in the afternoons," in addition to the advanced life support ambulance service based in the town having been extended from 12 to 24 hours.
The BNG parliamentarian retorted that the residents of this area are "fed up" with the Xunta's "lies." "Mr. Minister, provide the emergency services now or resign, that is all you have to do," he demanded.
"I will not resign, I am telling you in advance," replied Gómez Caamaño, who accused the Bloc of "generating a climate of conflict" that "will cause healthcare professionals not to want to provide their services" in this center.