Canary Islands Health Minister Esther Monzón reiterated on Wednesday in Parliament that the geriatrics service at Lanzarote's Insular Hospital will not be dismantled or closed. She made this statement during an intervention in which she emphasised that the care model will be maintained in its entirety.
The Health Minister of the Canary Islands Government, Esther Monzón, responded to criticism from the opposition and assured that the geriatrics service at Lanzarote's Insular Hospital is not in danger. "The care model will be maintained in its entirety, guaranteeing the necessary safety conditions for patients and also for workers," she stated during her speech in the Plenary of the Canary Islands Parliament.
Monzón was responding to questions from Socialist deputy Marcos Hernández, who had denounced the "uncertainty" generated by the regional government regarding the future of the centre. "The public mobilised because you have generated uncertainty with your statements," Hernández retorted, recalling the recent demonstration in defence of the hospital.
The minister insisted that the future use of the current building of the Insular Hospital will be public and will be decided through a technical master plan, agreed upon with all the institutions on the island. "It will be a public centre, make no mistake about that, for health or social health use," she emphasised, in line with what was already announced by President Fernando Clavijo during his recent visit to Lanzarote.
The PSOE denounces "progressive dismantling"
Socialist deputy Marcos Hernández attacked the management of the Canary Islands Government and asserted that the public perceives a "progressive dismantling" of the geriatric hospital. "I do not believe in coincidences. Moreover, I believe you have been misled. That is why I think you still have time to make a brave and firm decision on this matter," Hernández stated, addressing the minister.
The Socialist parliamentarian questioned the roadmap of the regional government and demanded concrete guarantees regarding the continuity of the service. "Every opinion from the Canary Islands Health Service or from officials of the Lanzarote Cabildo has only distanced certainties to turn hope into unease," he lamented.
For his part, the president of the Canary Nationalist Parliamentary Group, David Toledo, defended the government's management and accused the PSOE of using fear to hide its own poor management. "You cannot come now to tear your clothes when for four years you looked the other way," he stated, referring to technical reports from 2019 that had already warned of the deterioration of the building.
Toledo: "The hospital belongs to the people of Lanzarote and will continue to do so"
David Toledo was emphatic in defending the public nature of the Insular Hospital. "The hospital belongs to the people of Lanzarote and will continue to belong to the people of Lanzarote. There is no other possibility. The land use is for health and social health. There cannot be hotels, there cannot be apartments, there cannot be private business," he emphasised.
The nationalist leader explained that the Canary Islands Government has a "clear roadmap" that involves completing the Master Plan, a technical document that will determine the best solution for the building and the necessary actions. "First the Master Plan, then the funding. The money will not be allocated to any other purpose," he assured.
Toledo also reproached VOX for taking advantage of the debate to introduce a discourse on immigration that, in his opinion, had nothing to do with the subject of the initiative. "One reads the proposal and wonders what migrants have to do with the Insular Hospital, with our elderly or with the rehabilitation of the building. The answer is simple: absolutely nothing," he stated.
The debate in the Canary Islands Parliament has served to highlight the division of positions between the regional government and the opposition, while the residents of Lanzarote remain attentive to the evolution of the Master Plan, which will define the future of the health centre. Minister Monzón has promised that the process will be transparent and will have the consensus of all the involved institutions.
You may also like
