Vitoria (EFE)
The Ararteko, Manu Lezertua, delivered this Tuesday his annual report to the president of the Basque Parliament, Bakartxo Tejeria. It contains the 12,704 actions carried out by this institution last year, of which 7,504 correspond to complaints and queries.
12% of the total complaints are related to the health field with a notable increase that reveals, according to Ararteko, the situation of “tension” that the system is experiencing.
For this reason, the team from the Office of the Ombudsman in Euskadi recently held a meeting with the Minister of Health of the Basque Government, Gotzone Sagardui, to analyze the situation.
The Ararteko has not ruled out the possibility that in the future it could issue a “general recommendation” on the operation of Osakidetza that would give “clues” where improvements should go in the Basque Health Service.
Face-to-face care in health centers
He has assured that the Department headed by Sagardui is “very aware” of the situation. “It recognizes the problems and is looking for solutions”, some of which are already being adopted, such as the recovery of face-to-face care in Primary.
He has cited that problems related to patients with dual pathologies and mental health of young people persist, for example, and has recalled that there is an “underlying problem” such as the shortage of health professionals.
The report indicates that the current situation of the health system has been affected by the covid.
In his opinion, the pandemic “has only aggravated a previous situation, generated from little planning for future needs.” He has referred to “the specialties of family medicine and pediatrics, the lack of recognition of this level of care, the difficulties for the provision and retention of personnel and the progressive aging of the population and the consequent increase in chronic diseases ”.
It is pointed out that the necessary material and human resources must be provided to ensure the effective exercise of the right to health of Basque citizens. To this end, it calls for “planning measures and budget allocation necessary to guarantee a Basque public health system founded on the principles of equity, quality and proximity, with stable health personnel and endowed with sufficient resources”.
Incentives for healthcare personnel
For this, if necessary, professional, administrative and economic incentives must be established in order to facilitate the coverage of places that are difficult to access. These incentives will also serve to promote permanence in these positions by health and care personnel.
“This health system must guarantee access to primary medical care, continuous care, specialized care and mental health care at reasonable times and in an adequate manner, both in urban and rural areas,” it states. The report.
In general terms, throughout 2022 in 47% of all complaints filed in all areas there was some incorrect action by a public administration, a percentage higher by 2 points than the previous year.
The affected administration corrected and modified that action that motivated the claim in 88% of the cases, but after the stoppage of activities due to the confinement due to the covid, some of them have “neglected” their collaboration with the Ararteko.
Administrations that do not collaborate
For this reason, this institution last December had to contact various administrations on 46 occasions to remind them of the obligation to collaborate with it and that not doing so is a crime.
Lezertua has recognized that it is not pleasant to have to reach this situation, remember the possibility of going to the Prosecutor’s Office to denounce this lack of collaboration, since it can cause “significant damage” in the defense of the rights of citizens.
After these reminders, 7 files remain pending in some “recalcitrant” local administrations, mostly small entities with “administrative management” problems.
He has called for a “reflection” on the possibility of reforming the Law of the Ararteko so that he can exercise his functions “adequately”, in line with what was done in Navarra where the Ombudsman has been granted the power to impose sanctions, which it has a “very important deterrent effect”. EFE