It wasn’t all laughter and laughter in Prencia this Friday. Dozens of residents protested in front of the town’s medical center demanding “Uribe Costa’s dignified pediatric services” from Osakidza, disrupting celebrations of San Antolin’s patron saint, the coastal town’s Celebrations continued until Sunday. Görlitz resident Olatz Martin’s 3-year-old son developed “severe hypoglycemia” on August 23, and the clinic had no pediatric services to treat him, mobilizing countless people for the “distressing” incident Citizens gathered in the center of the town to express their support for the affected families and “seek solutions from the Basque government”.
The incident that caused residents to take to the streets happened around 11am last Wednesday. The resident noticed her son was “sweaty, dizzy and pale” and went to the Gollitz clinic, where they told her the pediatrician was unavailable and a nurse would be taking care of the minor. After taking “blood sugar tests, he was diagnosed with hypoglycemia,” and after the minor’s condition deteriorated, the healthcare provider personally referred them to the Prenzia Clinic for urgent care from a pediatrician.
After more than an hour of blood sugar levels stabilizing, the child was taken by ambulance to Cruces Hospital, where they completed medical tests. Olacz’s concern that her son had “possible brain damage due to a lack of premature attention from specialists” — that’s what the doctor told the mother — prompted Olacz to report what happened.
The mass event in Prenzia was meant to “commemorate the work done by the central toilets” and to take advantage of the influx of people brought about by the festivities, with the aim of making it clear “this is not an isolated case”. This was confirmed by Elizane Bilbao from Gorez, who did not hesitate to join the demonstration to show her solidarity. The mother of two children, a two-year-old and a four-year-old, confirmed that the annual review of both children was “always an uncertainty”. «August is here, it’s their turn and we don’t know if there will be a pediatrician. Many times we had to come to Prenzia”, he recounts. Neighbors also believed that the responsibility for what happened “should never be on the nurses”. “Overall, the situation is unstable. A lot of time, the focus is on a phone call, and at one point my son was diagnosed with conjunctivitis without even looking at him,” he said. But for fellow town resident Xabier García The problem is far more serious, says. “Most of the time we go, they refer us directly to Cruces. One time, the kid was not sleeping and had itching all over, and they made us wait a long time until the nurse condescended to tell us it was on strike. This is simply a common misconception »
Due to the lack of pediatricians in these centers, transferring sick children from Gorez to Prenzia and vice versa is a common experience of many families in these cities. “It has gotten worse since the previous pediatrician retired,” said Begoña Ibarguren, Prenzia’s neighbor and grandmother of several grandchildren. But the worst part is that sometimes we have no choice but to run to the Cruces hospital because there is no pediatrician in Urdullis. People complain that the emergencies are saturated, but of course, we have to go Somewhere,” he elaborated. Maria agrees with Begogna, who prefers not to give their surnames. In his view, “going to the pediatrician is a bit complicated, especially if you cancel a scheduled appointment.” “They gave us over three weeks,” he exclaims.
The statement, read by the affected mother along with a colleague, also condemned “Osakidza’s lack of self-criticism and responsibility” and said “the unfortunate situation in pediatrics endangers the health of our children”. at risk”. They conclude: “The towns of Barica, Gollitz, Le Moise and Prenzia lack pediatric services because the Basque government does not cover holidays, while in summer, due to the increase in the number of residents, the situation will get worse. “
Affected families to appear before Basque parliament to condemn ‘instability of pediatric services in Uribe Costa’
The family of a three-year-old boy who was unable to be treated by a pediatrician in Görliz due to “severe hypoglycemia” will attend the Basque Parliament at the invitation of EH Bildu on 23 August. Those affected will use their intervention to explain what has been suffered and “blame the instability of Uribe Costa’s pediatric services”. Sovereignist MP Rebeka Ubera asked Gotzone Sagardui to clarify “why there was no pediatrician in Görlitz that day, what other dates this happened, and Whether she thinks it is appropriate to do this during the summer season with increased population “is the best local”. EH Bildu also asked Director Osakidetza to intervene in the meeting to know “what measures will be taken to prevent this from happening again”.