Manilva’s governing team, led on this occasion by Health councillor Juan Carlos Morejón, announced this morning on Cadena Ser drastic measures in response to what it considers the «abandonment» of the municipality by the Junta de Andalucía in health matters. The Town Hall has ordered the Local Police to record how long a patient has to wait to be seen by the emergency team of the Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS), with the aim of documenting the situation and taking the Junta to court.
The council wants to demand that the Junta take on its healthcare responsibilities. Morejón said they are «very tired of the Junta de Andalucía turning its back on the town».
Million-Euro Cost and Services Taken on by the Town Hall
Councillor Morejón recalled that Manilva Town Hall has been taking on, for more than 20 years, services that would fall to the regional administration.
The Town Hall spends half a million euros a year on an ambulance, a doctor and a technician to cover emergencies from 16:00 to 08:00, a period during which the SAS provides no service.
In addition, the Town Hall covered the 2 million euros that the construction of the Sabinillas Health Centre cost, which, as he stated this morning, currently has half the number of doctors it should have.
The Problem of the Chare in Estepona
Another of the issues discussed was the situation of the Hospital de Alta Resolución (Chare) in Estepona.
Despite having been presented four years ago as the reference hospital for Manilva and Casares, the centre «still does not work fully».
The situation is so serious that, according to the councillor, the hospital’s own emergency department has sent an email to Manilva Town Hall asking that patients attended by the municipal medical team not be taken there.
«It is the closest hospital we have in the municipality, it is where we should take them, yet they find themselves unable to treat them and tell us please not to bring them» – Juan Carlos Morejón, Health Councillor.
Measures put in place by the Town Hall
In view of this situation, the Town Hall has put in place:
- A citizen advice office dedicated exclusively to recording residents’ complaints on health matters.
- Local Police reports documenting waiting times and what is happening in the municipality.
With all this documentation, the Town Hall does not rule out «any option, including the courts» to achieve its aim: that «no resident dies because nobody attends to them».
