Dénia health department to go public - it's official

Regional government informs Marina Salud in writing of imminent and 'irreversible' de-privatisation, which will 'only take a few months'

DE-PRIVATISING Dénia hospital has started and the process is 'irreversible', says regional president Ximo Puig - but the centre's management calls the move 'mere electioneering'.

The left-wing government of the three provinces has always pledged to scrap health service privatisation before its four-year term of office was up, and started with La Ribera district hospital in Alzira (Valencia province) last April.

But in the case of Alzira, its 20-year franchise had expired, whilst Marina Salud, the company which runs Dénia hospital, is not due to finish or renew until the end of 2022.

With regional elections due this May, however, Puig has been determined to effect the reversal before Spaniards go to the polls.

He visited Dénia on Good Friday to confirm he had set the ball rolling and that this ' irreversible' procedure would ' only take a few months'.

Medical workers and leftwing politicians have been calling for Dénia hospital and Marina Alta GP surgeries to return to public management for a decade - ever since, in fact, Marina Salud took over their running.

But they did not necessarily want to see this happen at any cost - and yet Puig has hinted that it could end up in the courts.

Save for the unlikely event of a last-minute deal between the regional government and the two companies involved, it is likely that the latter will fight to keep its franchise.

Marina Salud is made up of the German health insurer DKV, and Ribera Salud, which used to run Alzira hospital.

Puig initially spoke of the government buying out DKV's shares, although health worker unions are against this as it would once again put the hospital in the hands of a company, albeit a public-sector-run firm.

But Puig stresses that if this is the only solution, all management and funding decisions will come from the same regional health authority as that which covers State-run hospitals, rather than from a separate entity set up for the purpose.

The president has not revealed how much the de-privatisation will cost, as he does not want to give DKV and Ribera Salud an 'advantage' over him in the negotiations.

Once the Marina Alta area health department is back in regional government hands, 'major investments' will be made, 'especially in general practice', including building the long-awaited new clinics in Dénia, Pedreguer and Calpe.

"It's just electioneering; keep calm and carry on working"

Within hours of Dénia hospital's receiving a formal notification of de-privatisation from regional health minister Ana Barceló, a memo went round among staff telling them to 'ignore it'.

Hospital director, cardiologist Dr Luis Carretero, dashed off a letter to employees telling them the 'media circus' about Marina Salud's being given the elbow was 'mere electioneering' and that the firm would remain in the district 'for the long term'.

"Just this year, as we mark our 10th anniversary in the district, providing free healthcare to its entire population with the maximum standards of quality remains a great challenge, as does exceeding expectations with far fewer resources from our regional government than other departments receive from it," Dr Carretero wrote.

"You have all managed to rise to this challenge and to be an example of professional excellence and organisational skills which are the envy of our national health system."

Despite ongoing complaints over the last decade about 'despotic' management, high staff turnover with more than one in three doctors being newly-qualified and patients unlikely to see the same consultant twice in one year, Dr Carretero has always made a point of highlighting Dénia hospital's successes.

"Our results in terms of investments made, technology incorporated, waiting lists, quality, safety and efficient and responsible use of resources are something we are all familiar with and can be proud of - our results speak for themselves," he wrote to staff.

To staff who have complained about poor working conditions and who have urged Valencia to get on with the de-privatisation, Dr Carretero says: "The true architects of the results we have achieved, our awards, the gratitude of our patients, the quality and excellence of our treatment and assistance that we give to thousands of residents a day, are all of you," he continues.

"There may well be a lot of noise in the media over the coming days, in keeping with election season, which we are in at the moment, but we are going to carry on working as we always have done, with all the enthusiasm and intensity that our patients deserve. We are going to carry on looking forward to the future with new projects and a long-term vision such as any organisation like ours requires," Dr Carretero insists.

He says he has had numerous employees asking him questions after reading of the de-privatisation in the press.