The new team at the head of Basque Health, led by counselor Alberto Martínez, continues to rethink initiatives of the previous one, led by Gotzone Sagardui. In recent days, the paralysis of the plan to convert the old EiTB headquarters in Iurreta into a privately managed logistics platform for Osakidetza, a million-dollar infrastructure, has been confirmed, and it has also been decided not to outsource the management of the Service’s social networks anymore. Basque Health. In the first case, the majority of the unions had presented appeals and in the second LAB had also done so.
The first project was presented by the previous Government in the final stretch of the legislature as an investment of 30 million euros that was going to be operational in 2026. It was to allow “optimizing the acquisition and distribution of health and non-health supplies to the entire network of Osakidetza hospitals and health centers.” As “advantages”, the Sagardui team had announced that the purchasing policy was going to be “optimized” and “minimize the administrative, bureaucratic and logistical tasks of health professionals associated with the management of materials”, something that apparently was going to “result in the improvement of healthcare services.”
The unions presented an appeal to the Administrative Body of Contractual Resources (OARC) to stop this new attempt at what they consider a “privatization” of the capabilities of the public health system and also took it to court as it was not successful administratively. “It means the loss of jobs in the current workforce,” argued LAB when the Iurreta project was announced. He added that a policy of “dismantling” Osakidetza was being followed and stressed that the network has “24 warehouses” with personnel who could “normally” assume the tasks of the new centralized center.
Sources from Martínez’s team have confirmed to this newspaper that it has been decided to put the Iurreta project on ‘stand by’ and begin a “reflection” on what type of project would be best. The LAB union has also reported that they have received that same message. They are grateful that the Administration has been “permeable” to their claims but remember that this change would not have been possible without the “mobilizations.” LAB, in recent years, has also stopped other outsourcing through resources. In July they estimated the total number of contracts they had blocked at 163 million. “A good job has been done. The fight is worth it. In this conflict we have proven that the mobilizations and awareness against privatization have worked,” says Jesús Oñate.
Regarding social networks, LAB once again went to the OARC. In the summer, this body issued a resolution stopping the outsourcing of Osakidetza’s communication to a private company, a practice that had been carried out for years. Now there will be no further attempts to tender this service and it will be done with our own resources, but while the contract was being reviewed, a direct award was formalized (something possible because it was less than 15,000 euros) with the company Socialitas, owned by businessman Igor San Román. He was paid 14,200 euros plus VAT.
It so happens that Socialitas had already worked before for Health and has also received other direct contracts from other departments of the Basque Government such as Security or Culture, where year after year it is commissioned to work on promoting the official status of the national teams. Basque sports without contest. This company has its headquarters in the center of Vitoria – in the old Príncipe or Guridi Theater – but, despite managing communications on the web and social networks, it does not have any of these supports. San Román, who is a director of Athletic Club, denies having had favorable treatment or being linked to the PNV and explains that the anomaly of not having his own networks is explained by the fatigue that he generates with the tone of the conversation in media such as X.
The recent diagnosis on the state of Osakidetza that came out of the table that explores a health pact also alludes to the issue of privatizations. At the request of some of the agents participating in the forum, it has been agreed to include a mention of this issue there. There are three points about it. One: “The exercise of positions of responsibility in the public health system and simultaneous professional activity in the private sphere could imply a conflict of interest that requires careful analysis.” Two: “In recent years there has been an increase in coordination. Likewise, in the decade 2013-2023, private individual insurance has increased by approximately 50%.” And three: the analysis of outsourced ambulances has been rectified to eliminate the responsibility that was placed for problems in the service to workers and to expressly point out the deficiencies of the main contractor, Grup La Pau.
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