Surgery staff ‘exhausted and stressed’
Patients are getting neglected, claims union
OVERCROWDING, poor working conditions and sheer staff exhaustion are affecting patient care at GP surgeries across the Marina Alta, according to public sector employees’ union CSIF.
Cancelled appointments, long delays in getting a doctor's visit, and diagnostic test waits stacking up, are 'having nefarious consequences' for patients, says the union. Some of the worst-affected are those with chronic, long-term or serious conditions, and levels of care are 'below standard both for people with Covid and with unrelated health issues', the CSIF says in an open letter to the district health service operator, Marina Salud.
The missive complains of 'poor planning', 'lack of foresight', 'inaction by those in power' and 'no support for front-line workers' – a combination
that is leading to medical staff becoming totally exhausted, overwhelmed and suffering from stress.
Local practices are not getting locum staff to cover sick leave or parental leave, nor taking on new employees to replace those who have retired or left, according to the CSIF.
In Calpe, workers off ill or forced to isolate due to Covid have led to a blanket shutdown of face-to-face appointments.
“The 'sixth wave' of the pandemic and appearance of the Omicron variant have merely served to worsen the situation at GP practices within the Denia area health department,” the union's letter reads.
“And these surgeries were already terminally ill before Covid even started.”
Marina Salud is a private company which runs the Marina Alta health department as a concession granted by a previous regional government.