The Nursing Union SATSE has raised concerns regarding staffing cuts and the lack of hiring during the summer at the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC). The union, alongside other entities within the works committee, organised a protest at the hospital complex demanding that absences of healthcare personnel be covered, including sick leave, permits, reduced hours, and holidays.

Demands for Adequate Staffing

According to SATSE, the protest gathered hundreds of professionals who called for proper human resource planning during the summer period. The union claims that the lack of replacements is causing a care overload in many services, forcing nurses and physiotherapists to work with insufficient staffing to meet demand.

The shortage of professionals not only affects those who work daily in the hospital; it also has direct consequences on the care patients receive.

SATSE warns that this situation impacts both the working conditions of professionals and the quality of care received by patients. They argue that maintaining units and services with limited human resources increases pressure on staff and hinders the provision of safe and quality care.

Call for Increased Nursing and Physiotherapy Personnel

During the protest, professionals called for an increase in nursing and physiotherapy staff levels to align them with actual workloads and the healthcare needs of the population.

The union underscores that the Canary Islands’ public healthcare system requires personnel management that anticipates periods of higher care demand. “The shortage of professionals not only affects those working daily in the hospital; it also has direct consequences on the care patients receive,” SATSE emphasises.

The organisation is urging the health administration to take immediate measures to ensure effective cover for absences, strengthen services facing greatest staffing challenges, and open an urgent dialogue with union organisations.