SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, Esther Monzón, presented today, Monday, in a parliamentary committee, the budget of her department, included in the draft General Budgets of the Autonomous Community for 2024, which records an increase of 15.2% and raises its financial endowment up to 4,369 million euros.
Esther Monzón explained that the Budget of the Canarian Health Service (SCS) contemplates for the first time the real health expenditure of the main autonomous body of the Ministry, which will increase its financial allocation in 2024 by 576 million, 15.2% more compared to the previous year. initial budget for this year.
According to him, the 2024 budget reflects the Government’s commitment to social policies and specifically to the SCS, which has a specific weight of the Executive’s global accounts of 38.6 percent.
The counselor added that this budget will allow public health to advance in seven major strategic lines, such as the implementation of the Activa Canarias Plan to reduce waiting lists, with an additional item of 25.7 million, or the consolidation of the +Primary Care Strategy to advance the implementation of this program in all health centers.
Also the development of the mental health and addictions plan as well as the chronicity strategy, as well as strengthening the Public Health Promotion and Prevention programs as well as the new epidemiological surveillance system.
Other strategic lines are the development of the stabilization process for SCS professionals, which affects 12,000 workers and the consolidation of the 7,055 new positions in the organic workforce; promote health research, R&D&i. and the training of SCS professionals; and implement works and improvements in equipment on all the islands, to continue bringing services closer to the patient, thus also collaborating with environmental sustainability, within the ZERO Emissions Health strategy.
BUDGET BY CHAPTERS AND PROGRAMS.
Chapter I (Personnel Expenses) increases its initial budget by 10.91%, reaching 2,289 million euros, which represents 52.4% of the initial SCS expenditure budget.
Chapter II, corresponding to current goods and services, accounts for 27.3% of the total expenditure budget of the autonomous body and goes from the 897 million allocated in 2023 to surpassing the one billion barrier, reaching 1,193 million euros. .
Chapter VI, real investments in infrastructure and equipment, has an allocation of 116,280,261 euros, for the execution of priority projects on all the islands.
By programs, 95.8 percent of the SCS budget is allocated to health care, through the financing of Primary Care and Hospital activity, in such a way that the allocation for Primary Care increases by 15. 67 percent, the largest increase recorded in this program until reaching 1,351,850,750 euros.
The increase for Hospital Care is estimated at 18.8 percent, with a total of 2,834,202,584 euros, that is, 448 million more, which doubles the increase compared to 2023 and will have specific extra items to combat the lists waiting period, for which an additional 25.7 million euros are allocated.
The Public Health programs will have a budget of 36,390,743 euros, which will be allocated, among other actions, to developing the new epidemiological surveillance system, the new vaccination schedule, health promotion and prevention programs, as well as the entomological surveillance.
The Research and R&D&I program will have 11.8 million euros while the Training program for SCS staff has 55.8 million euros, with an increase of two percent compared to 2023.
SECTOR PLANS AND INFRASTRUCTURES
The Budget project includes specific economic items for the sectoral plans, among which is an item of 9.5 million allocated to Emergencies through PLUSCAN, four million for the Chronicity Strategy and three million for the Mental Health Plan , two million euros for the Rare Diseases Strategy, 600,000 euros for Early Care, 2,150,000 euros are allocated for the Persistent Covid Strategy, in addition to 1,072,500 euros for the Home Hospitalization Strategy and 900,000 euros for the emergency plan. Addictions, among other provisions.
The main health infrastructure projects planned for 2024 for each island are: HUC expansion project with a new Maternal and Child building; Emergencies of the Ntra. Sra. de La Candelaria University Hospital; expansion project for the North and South Hospitals of Tenerife; Tacoronte Health Center; construction of the Pediatric Tower of the Canary Islands Maternal and Child University Hospital, among others.
The budget allocated by the Ministry of Health to the public company Management of Services for Safety and Health in the Canary Islands (GSC) is 81,485,543 euros, while that of the ICHH is 3,287,904 euros, which will allow for boosting resources and services; while the amount allocated to the Canary Islands Health Research Foundation by the SCS is 2,061,777.
