Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

New health law death shakes up Majorca

The manager of a hospital in Majorca was fired on Wednesday after staff at his clinic repeatedly refused to treat a Senegalese man who later died of tuberculosis.

Published: 22 May 2013 17:37 CEST
New health law death shakes up Majorca
Pam was first not tended to, then made to sign a guarantee of payment slip and finally given a general check-up. File Photo: julikeishon/Flickr

The Balearic Islands’ Health minister Martí Sansaloni agreed to remove the director of Comarca de Inca Hospital from his position following the death of Alpha Pam, a young Senegalese man who had been living on the island for eight years but didn’t have a Spanish health card.

Pam first tried to get treatment six months ago when he found out that someone in his entourage had contracted the deadly but easily treatable disease, online daily 20 minutos reported in April.

After going to an outpatient’s clinic on seven occasions, he was sent to Comarca de Inca hospital to receive treatment.

Pam was first not tended to, then made to sign a guarantee of payment slip and finally given a general check-up.

The young Senegalese man passed away in his home on the 21st of April.

His death is the first official case linked to a new law introduced in August of last year which prevents undocumented immigrants from having a health card and only allows them to be treated in the emergency room, regardless of whether they are registered with the state.

Spain's government denied on Wednesday that racial discrimination played any role in Pam's death.

"In no way, and this is the important thing, was there any discrimination related to the origin or condition of the person being cared for," Health Minister Ana Mato told Parliament.

"Unfortunately, mistakes are sometimes made but that has nothing to do with the health service."

Spanish NGO Médicos del Mundo and local political party MES per Mallorca condemned the act of negligence as soon as they heard of Pam’s death and are currently threatening to take legal action against the Balearic Islands’ Health minister Martí Sansaloni for failure to provide medical assistance.

Last week, a British couple seeking urgent medical attention for their baby were forced to make a dawn dash for €132 cash as a result of a similar "extreme" application of the controversial Royal Decree Law (RDL) 16/2012 which was introduced last year.

The law imposed severe cuts on the Spanish National Health System and states unregistered foreigners should be refused medical assistance.

Not all autonomous communities in Spain have enforced the law yet. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:09 CEST
Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

SHOW COMMENTS