SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Jan. 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, together with the Minister of Health, Blas Trujillo, signed the second addendum to the collaboration agreement on the settlement of reciprocal obligations derived from the construction of the hospital and socio-sanitary complex in the south-southwest of Tenerife and the Specialized Care Center (CAE), as well as the transfer of ownership.
This new agreement between public administrations gives free rein to the open process of expanding the Hospital del Sur, a plan that already has a draft and for which an investment of around 40 million euros is expected by the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS). ). The fitting out of new infrastructure to integrate into this complex and the implementation of more health services will mean the expansion of the existing activity and the incorporation of new medical services, such as the adult and pediatric ICU, the dialysis unit and the day, among others.
During his visit to the Hospital del Sur, the President of the Canary Islands held a first meeting with managers of the SCS and the Cabildo de Tenerife. This working meeting was followed by a second, after the incorporation to the previous table of members of the Platform for Public Hospital of the South, this group headed by its spokesperson, Jordi Esplugas.
In his speech to the media, Ángel Víctor Torres highlighted that this Wednesday the second addendum to an agreement between the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Government of the Canary Islands on the Hospital del Sur, which has been built in Arona after the transfer of land by the City Council. He explained that it is a work between different administrations that culminates today after the process of transferring 22 million euros from the regional government to the Cabildo, together with the exchange of several plots, which will make it possible to expand this sanitary complex with an investment forecast of 40 million euros.
Torres indicated that they have also been with the Platform for the Public Hospital of the South, of which one of its members affirmed that this was the best day of years of struggle. The president admitted that it is true that the members of the Platform will continue to be vigilant and that they would have liked to sign this second addendum sooner, “but it has not been easy.” “Therefore, today is a very important day for the southern region of Tenerife, for the entire island, for public health and to respond to the people of this place,” he added.
In addition, the head of the Canarian Executive highlighted that 40 million euros are available for an expansion project of the Hospital del Sur, so that it has a broader portfolio of services, with intensive care units (ICU), pediatrics or to double the number of hospital beds. Likewise, he maintained that this “is already unstoppable; it cannot be stopped because it is closed with today’s signature and with the budget commitment, with its own and European funds and from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism,” he stated.
In his response to the media, Torres said that today “is a day to be happy to close a fight and a commitment of a long time.” Thus, he wanted to thank the former Minister of Health, Teresa Cruz, for her work, because “she saw with the Cabildo the need to reformulate this agreement, to turn it around, to make it better.” “Today is proof that, if the administrations agree, things work and end up giving results. The important thing is that we are moving towards a better health infrastructure,” she stressed.
Ángel Víctor Torres explained that the work that had to be done has been done and it was not easy. “Our will is now to complete a task that began decades ago, which is almost 50,000 square meters for public health. Whenever we are in a place where a new public infrastructure is committed, I feel happy because we are giving society a service free, essential and of high quality”, he specified.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF TENERIFE
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, affirmed that today “a step is taken, which has to be the definitive one, to stop talking about a need and complete a real hospital”. In this sense, he highlighted the commitment of the institutions to the Pro-Hospital del Sur Platform, “which has been fighting for so many years to carry out this project”, and pointed out that this action “not only has an initial budget of 40 million euros , but it is estimated that the works could start before the end of the year”.
Pedro Martín also explained that the Cabildo has handed over to the regional Executive a building in an advanced state of construction and has ceded land for a possible expansion in the future, “which will make it possible to improve the portfolio of services that the population of the south of the island”.
Specifically, it would be about increasing the number of beds, creating an Intensive Care Unit for adults and another for children, administering chemotherapy to cancer patients or expanding emergencies. “Improvements that will in turn redound to the reference hospital, that of La Candelaria,” he concluded.
In his speech, the mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, stressed that today is “a great day on the road that has been traveled to be able to have a great public hospital in the south of Tenerife, of the highest level”. “It has been a dream of decades to which we are closer than ever, catching up with hospitals such as La Candelaria or the HUC. The expansion of these facilities is an unparalleled expansion of the future portfolio of services,” he insisted.
CONTENT OF THE SECOND ADDENDUM
The Governing Council of the Canary Islands authorized the signing of this second addendum on December 29, at the proposal of the Ministry of Health. The purpose of this agreement is the modification and extension of the agreement that allows the exchange of the plots assigned to each Administration and the updating of the settlement and the expected annual payments, as well as its extension until December 31, 2023.
The SCS and the Cabildo de Tenerife had signed in 2019 the first addendum to the collaboration agreement, this one signed in December 2018, for the financial settlement of the obligations contracted during the construction of the Hospital del Sur de Tenerife and the performance by the Insular Corporation of the patrimonial operations necessary for the transmission to the SCS of the real estate destined to sanitary uses.
This second addendum includes the transmission to the SCS of the plot that in the agreement had been assigned to the Island Council because that location was the most suitable for the expansion of the Hospital del Sur. For this, the Cabildo de Tenerife will process the registry grouping of the farms and will initiate the legal mutation file, a necessary condition for the transfer of property to the Autonomous Community.
After signing this second addendum, the Ministry of Health will proceed to undertake the expansion of the Hospital del Sur de Tenerife in order to continue reinforcing health care for the population residing in the southern area and thus give an adequate response to the current care needs and future.
To do this, a new building will be built that will increase the surface area of the current center by 20,000 square meters and another 8,000 to reorganize the spaces, until reaching a total area of 47,000 square meters.
