It’s been 12 days since the kitchens of the new 12 de Octubre University Hospitalin Madrid, began to operate. After a seven month delay in openingworkers hoped that this renewal would mark a turning point and improve their situation after years of cuts and of progressive deterioration of Madrid’s public health. However, the current situation is far from its initial expectations.
Luis Lopezmaintenance worker and delegate Assembly Movement of Health Workers (Mats), denounces Public the deficiencies in the design of the new kitchen from the hospital. “The drain grate does not have the necessary inclination for water to flow, which causes everything to flood. Workers must remove water with brushes and work practically in a pond. To absorb moisture, place cardboard on the ground next to a bucket. Besides, the machines have been failing since day one“, account.
It exposes the harsh working conditions faced by female workers in the hospital’s new kitchens. “They are working at temperatures between five and 11 degreesand they have only been given a fleece as a coat. The washing trains are brokenmaintenance does not arrive or arrives late, and They must wash everything by handwhich generates added stress,” he details. In addition, he criticizes the lack of proper equipment: “You cannot put workers in new facilities without providing them with the necessary means. They do not have adequate warm clothing or gloves, and the lockers to store their belongings are too small,” he emphasizes.
López points out that the situation was already addressed in a health and safety committee held in November. “They say they are going to solve it, but the reality is that workers continue to face these conditions“, he assures. According to the Mats delegate, after that meeting there has been no progress or responses from the hospital management. Public He has tried to contact the center’s management on several occasions, but has not received a response either.
Sources from the Ministry of Health of Madrid they assure Public that the problem with the washing train was resolved the same day the incident was reported. Likewise, they affirm that thermal clothing and fleece linings have been urgently purchased for the workers. “The specific temperature imbalance has already been resolved and currently everything works normally,” they maintain. However, the hospital workers contradict this version and assure that they continue to carry out their work in precarious conditions.
New meal management affects patients
Luis López warns that deficiencies in kitchens have a direct impact on patients, due to the change in the method of food preparation. “Before, the food was prepared the same day, but now it is prepared one or two days in advance“he explains. For his part, Pilar Gomeza hospitalization ward worker, confirms to this newspaper that problems arise especially when a patient’s diet must be adjusted or a new admission occurs, which complicates meal management and affects personalized care.
Pilar Gómez: “The management proposed offering yogurt to new admissions and patients with diet changes”
Gómez details that, when prepared in advance and frozen, the food does not reach the patient on time if there is no proper planning. According to the worker, in these cases, The hospital management proposed as a solution to only offer yogurtclaiming that there was no food available. “In the kitchen they denied us that this was the case,” he says.
The worker criticizes the lack of planning in the transition from the old kitchen to the new facilities. “There is no pilot to manage this change. They are working on a trial and error basis, but with the hospital fully operational“he points out. Luis López shares this concern and assures that improvisation is affecting both staff and patients. “They are throwing the workers to the lions, leaving them to their fate, and this situation is also being suffered by the patients,” complaint.
Suspension of surgeries
Last week, the sterilization service workers at the 12 de Octubre Hospital denounced Public the disorganization in the operating rooms after the opening of the new center. According to reports, the boxes with urgent surgical material They take up to four hours to be readywrong or incomplete supplies are received, and, on many occasions, lack of basic instruments.
Mats: “Surgical teams have found themselves without the essential instruments to attend to vital emergencies”
“This has prevented interventions from being carried out with the necessary security. In several guards, the surgical teams have found themselves without the essential instruments to attend to vital emergencies and causing the suspension of surgeries, a situation that they describe as unacceptable and that considered serious negligence“, according to Mats.
Diana Ruiza nurse in the operating room, acknowledged in statements to this medium that both the Madrid Health Department and the hospital management have stated that they are working to resolve the problems, the same response that the kitchen employees have received. The worker stressed that no adaptation phases were carried outas the Ministry had pointed out, and stated that “the surgical reports are exactly the same as before the transfer.”
#Kitchen #staff #Octubre #Hospital #report #work #degrees #waterlogged #facilities
