- Los Montesinos mayor, Jose Butron, and other mayors of Torrevieja Health Department, meet with Minister of Health Ana Barceló to address reversion of Torrevieja Hospital to public management
By Andrew Atkinson
Following the announcement the Ministry of Universal Health and Public Health deciding not to extend the management contract of the Torrevieja Department of Health and to initiate the procedures for said contract to end in October 2021 a meeting has been held by the regional Mayors and Minister of Health Ana Barceló.
The Valencian Government met on October 15 to the concessionaire company, the intention not to extend the management contract, as well as the rules for the receipt of all material, immaterial and personnel elements affected by the contract under the conditions set out in the management agreement for public services by concession.
The mayor of Los Montesinos, Jose Manuel Butron, along with the rest of the mayors of the Torrevieja Health Department, held a meeting with the Minister of Health Ana Barceló to address the reversion of the Torrevieja Hospital to public management.
“As explained by the person in charge of Universal Health and Public Health, Ana Barceló, the measure is taken based on one of the basic pillars that governs the actions of this Government and which is none other than strengthening public health, improving its quality, efficiency and universality,” said a spokesperson from Los Montesinos town Hall.
“The process will be carried out with the maximum legal certainty and guaranteeing by the concession the best quality of care and the conditions of the affected workforce.
“The Generalitat thus complies with the third axis of the Botànic II agreement, ‘Public Services to continue rescuing and caring for people’ which, in point 24, specifies:
“We will continue working for the recovery of privatised public services, once the concession with a common policy that guarantees a better, more equitable, efficient and quality service and that does not entail economic damage to the Generalitat.
“The recovery of the Torrevieja health department by the Generalitat represents a step forward in improving health care for residents in the municipalities of Torrevieja, Guardamar del Segura, Rojales, Pilar de la Horadada, Orihuela, San Fulgencio, Benijófar, Formentera del Segura, San Miguel de Salinas and Los Montesinos.
“The importance of strengthening the public health system has also been reinforced at this very important moment, where the pandemic has required an unprecedented mobilisation of human and economic resources,” according to Barceló.
“The decision is made exclusively on the basis of efficiency criteria. Investment in improving the health of Valencian men and women cannot be conditioned on cost reductions aimed at obtaining benefits.
“The only criterion must be that of health efficiency from the optimization of the necessary and sufficient resources to adequately cover the demand of the population”, stated Barceló.
The head of Health also wanted to inform the workers of the department first-hand of the decision taken “to incorporate the department into public management and tell them that it will maintain a direct communication channel so that they are permanently informed of the process.”
“The councillor has shown her satisfaction at being able to continue counting from the reception with the valuable human and professional capital available to the Torrevieja Health Department”.
Ana Barceló took advantage of the announcement to congratulate all the health department staff for the ‘extra effort and dedication they are making, due to the exceptional situation to which the pandemic has led us’.
The front page image shows Los Montesinos mayor, Jose Butron, with mayors of Torrevieja Health Department, meeting with Minister of Health Ana Barceló to address the reversion of the Torrevieja Hospital to public management.
