'No nurses left' at Dénia hospital, says union

SATSE claims privatised health department has suffered 'exodus' to public-sector run districts due to 'low wages and shifts that are absolute hell'

MEDICAL union SATSE has claimed that the Marina Alta public healthcare area has 'no nurses left' as they are all moving to other districts with better working conditions and pay.

Dénia hospital and its dependent health centres and GP surgeries are managed for the regional health service by the private company Marina Salud, made up of Alzira hospital's old management company, Ribera Salud, and German health insurer DKV.

According to SATSE, 'all the existing nurses' have requested transfers to other departments, such as La Safor and the Marina Baixa, because there they would be public-sector employees with higher salaries and 'less-exhausting' shifts.

SATSE says it has been holding 'continuous meetings' with management at Dénia hospital warning that this was in danger of happening imminently.

The Covid-19 pandemic turned out to be the catalyst, the union claims.

It says nurses who had been working for 'many years' in Dénia had opted to transfer to public-sector hospitals, and that unemployed nurses have turned down positions in the Marina Alta, preferring to wait for one in another catchment area.

According to SATSE, Marina Salud has denied a 'exodus of nurses', and claimed it has 'no problems in filling vacancies' and 'only a very few nurses have left'.

Addressing Marina Alta patients collectively, two spokeswomen for SATSE – both nurses – said: “We're not choosing to leave the district because of not wanting to work near home; we're leaving because of the truly precarious working conditions we find ourselves in.

“We're leaving because of a lack of appreciation on the part of DKV and Ribera Salud; we're leaving because of low wages; we're leaving because our shifts are absolute hell; we're leaving because we've said 'enough already' and we're fed up with our justified requests for better medical services for our patients being ignored.

“The consequences of not having nurses on duty are clearly visible: operating theatres are being closed, outpatient consultation areas are being closed, hospital services and units are being closed, and patient care is being reduced.

“And it's not because it's summer, it's not because staff are taking their well-deserved holidays. It's because there are no nurses,” the SATSE spokeswomen asserted.