The general secretary of the Medical Union in Tenerife, Levy Cabrera, stated on Tuesday that it is «urgent» to formalize the management of medical consultations in case of maximum alert, as happened last Thursday due to winds after the passage of the storm ‘Nuria’ through the Canary Islands.
«It was improvised, there was a total lack of information,» he told Europa Press, giving the example that at no time was health mentioned when the Government of the Canary Islands suspended classes and promoted teleworking.
Cabrera pointed out that many doctors, in the case of Tenerife, have to travel from the metropolitan area to the CAEs of El Mojón, in Arona, and Icod, in the north of the island, in the midst of a maximum alert that advised against road trips.
He emphasized that this issue is «badly managed, not formalized» and believes that if there is a maximum alert, all non-scheduled activity should be suspended. «But of course, it is not done,» he added.
Thus, he questions whether it is «essential» to attend a non-urgent medical consultation when a patient has been waiting for 15 months for an ophthalmology appointment, for example, as they do not clarify whether it will be rescheduled for the following week or if they have to wait «another 15 months».
He acknowledged that healthcare personnel «are essential» but at the same time, he sees room to report to Occupational Hazards because the safety of the worker is at stake, and in the specific case of the storm ‘Nuria’, «it was left to free will.»
Therefore, he proposes to implement an information system through the intranet for professionals and also through the media, in this case aimed at patients, on «how to act in that case.»
