SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE APR. (Press Europa) –
The Collective of Health Workers Assembly7islas has dispatched a letter to the Parliament of the Canary Islands requesting “urgent” measures regarding the occupation of beds in public and private hospitals by approximately 1,000 socio-health patients who have been medically discharged.
The note specifies that the health system in the Canary Islands has witnessed an “alarming increase” in socio-health patients in recent years, particularly amongst the elderly, individuals with chronic illnesses, severe functional impairments, or extreme dependency. These patients, despite receiving the appropriate medical clearance, continue to occupy hospital facilities as their relatives are unable to afford their care.
Consequently, it is highlighted that the “unnecessary” occupation of hospital beds obstructs the admission of new patients who genuinely require acute care, “leading to emergencies, extended surgical or medical waiting lists, in addition to causing ineffective utilisation of hospital resources.”
Therefore, the assembly has appealed to the parliamentary groups to “urgently address” the plight of socio-health patients who linger in hospitals post-medical discharge. “This cannot continue to be a silenced or deferred issue,” they assert.
