Cancer patients in the south of Tenerife do not receive treatment close to where they live. Every day, dozens of them must be transferred by family and friends to the La Candelaria Hospital. Or get there as they can. Many thanks to the town councils of the region, which have financed a free collective transport system for decades.
Only because of what it means did the announcement made yesterday by the manager of La Candelaria, Roberto Gómez, resonate so strongly during an institutional visit to the Hospital del Sur, popularly known as El Mojón: in the first half of 2024 the hospital will come into operation. oncology ward.
It is an independent building next to the health center facilities, well known among residents of the South because it was one of the mass vaccination points against COVID-19 in the midst of the pandemic. “The idea is that it will be the block for oncology and internal medicine patients in a day hospital,” explained the manager. It is very accessible. “The treatment is already uncomfortable enough without patients having to go through the entire hospital,” he added, insisting that the given deadline is “very realistic.”
Roberto Gómez accompanied the Minister of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, Esther Monzón, through different areas of El Mojón; to the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila; to the director of the Canarian Health Service, Carlos Díaz, and to representatives of the Pro Hospital del Sur Platform.
The objective was to inform the latter of the progress recorded since the meeting they held in September of this year with the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo. It discussed both the oncology unit and the use of the laboratory, as well as the operating rooms and a new computerized tomography (CT) device.
The new spectral CT was visited by those who took the tour, while Roberto Gómez praised that the South one is “the only public hospital in the Canary Islands with two CT scans.”
As for the operating rooms, as explained by the manager of La Candelaria – the center on which El Mojón depends -, the four existing ones are already in operation, compared to the two that had been operating until now. The laboratory is a separate issue. Roberto Gómez assured that it began operating for 24 hours last Wednesday, which represents a leap in the operation of the hospital.
Lacking the necessary instruments, until this week it was necessary to continue using the health center of the Tenerife capital, which significantly reduced care in the emergency room, where many of the necessary tests could not be done.
Gómez Pescoso said that “in a very short time we have raised the level of diagnosis and testing in the hospital, starting with all the latest technology laboratory equipment, which will allow us to carry out tests on the entire population of the South in real time. and in the region, without having to transfer the samples to La Candelaria.”
The Minister of Health explained that, “in a very short space of time, in just four months, we have fulfilled the commitment made in September, thus preventing residents of the South from having to move. Our goal is to continue bringing services closer to patients and not the other way around.”
The spokesperson for the platform, Jordi Esplugas, indicated that “this was a long-awaited visit for us,” while defending that “over the twenty-nine years of demands of this platform, we have rarely seen so much progress made.” . Therefore, we leave very satisfied, although some things remain.” Regarding the latter, he took into account the blood bank or the delivery rooms, which would remain pending for the planned expansion.
The president of the Tenerife Cabildo gave thanks because “the commitment that was made to Tenerife, and specifically to the South, is being fulfilled, with equipment that puts us at the forefront.” Rosa Dávila added that “we see how an effort has been made” to advance this public hospital. Regarding the socio-health part, she stated that “we already have all the land to undertake it and the drafting of the center project is contemplated in the Cabildo’s budget.”
