Health stresses that there are 2,633 more professionals than before the pandemic, but CC OO raises the number of staff that have not been renewed to 1,300
The Murcian Health Service (SMS) now has about 300 fewer professionals for reinforcement than in April, according to the data provided by the Administration. At the end of April there were, specifically, 2,942 more workers than before the start of the pandemic, while on November 8 the figure was 2,633, according to SMS figures.
In light of these numbers, the bulk of the reinforcements – almost 90% – remains, but the information provided is difficult to interpret. These data include not only temporary personnel who have been hired to face the successive waves of the pandemic, but also professionals who are covering casualties and all kinds of eventuals. “There has been an increase in temporary disabilities due to the very situation generated by Covid,” warns Miguel Ángel López, president of the Health Federation of Workers’ Commissions.
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Optional
319 in Specialized Care, 111 in Primary and 17 in central services. -
Nursing
566 in Specialized, 353 in Primary and 29 in central services. -
Nursing assistants
491 in Specialized, 48 in Primary and 15 in central services. -
Technical specialists
264, all of them in Specialized. -
Administrative and administrative assistants
69 in Specialized, 83 in Primary and 40 in central services. -
Wardens
169, all of them in Specialized. -
Social workers
10 in Specialized, 21 in Primary and 7 in central services. -
Physiotherapists
9 in Specialized and 14 in Primary Care.
In fact, the SMS figures do not add up to this union. According to its own calculations, the regional health has dispensed with 1,300 personnel since April. That month there were 4,295 professionals outside the structural workforce with some continuity, while at the end of October the figure stood at 3,005, they point out in CC OO. In general, union organizations regret the lack of clear information on the Covid reinforcements. “Every time we have asked, they give us different numbers,” explains María José Campillo, from the Medical Union.
According to the information provided by the SMS, there are now 948 nurses, 554 Nursing assistants and 192 administrative and administrative assistants more than in February 2019, just before the pandemic broke out. There are also, according to these figures, 441 more doctors. The Medical Union (CESM) receives the figure with skepticism. “I wish there were 400 more professionals, but there have hardly been doctors with Covid contracts, because they are not on the stock market,” warns María José Campillo, Cesm’s treasurer. The SMS has made use of emergency calls, with the temporary hiring of resident internal doctors (MIR) who finished the period of residence. In the hospitals, there have also been numerous casualties for years, waiting for their consolidation, explains Campillo.
The figures, in any case, are changing, and evolve depending on the situation. With the increase in infections that is taking place and the growing pressure for care, “new contracts have been signed since last Friday,” explains Antonio Martínez, general secretary of the Union of Health Professionals (SPS),
Consolidation
Beyond these fluctuations, what the unions are asking is that the remaining reinforcements in the health system be consolidated in the workforce. “It is being shown that they are necessary, you just have to see the saturation in Primary Care and Emergency services”, warns Miguel Ángel López, from the Health Federation of CC OO. The SPS and Cesm agree. “They told us that more than a thousand workers were going to be consolidated, but we have not heard from it again,” explains María José Campillo.
The trade union organizations fear that the SMS is encountering resistance from the Treasury when it comes to creating new jobs. The Ministry of Health, for now, does not clear up the question. “The reinforcements have been carried out throughout the pandemic depending on the different stages, such as summer, vacations, waves of the pandemic, income, vaccination process, etc.”, explain sources from this department. «They are adapted according to the needs of each health area. Throughout the pandemic, all the resources that are necessary to serve the population have been and continue to be put in place, ”they underline from the SMS.
Hoteliers bet on confining the unvaccinated
Jesús Jiménez, president of the hospitality organization, asked Health to “do not harm the sector” due to the increase in infections. Jiménez prosecuted that leisure and hospitality venues claim the Cov certificate from customers. He also raised the possibility that “those who do not want to be vaccinated” get killed, a measure announced by countries such as Austria. Vox accused Jiménez of becoming a “totalitarian puppet of Sanchismo”, although it is the communities that actually demand the use of the certificate.
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