If the flu epidemic is similar to previous years of COVID-19, why are health centers restoring breathing circuits or wearing masks?Because these recommendations are actions with objective results for the treatment and prevention of acute respiratory infections. Aragon has always favored measures based on incidence rates and this is our message to the Ministry of Health.
He criticized the panic caused by the extraordinary call by the Inter-Territorial Committee.We started working in Aragon in October. When all communities were being relocated, an inter-regional committee was formed urgently to resolve the issue within 48 hours, which sounded the alarm but had only one message, which was to worry the people. If you want to fight the flu, you have to start working in October, not January.
But Aragon has recommended that health and social hygiene staff wear masks.We don’t criticize the substance, because we think masks are a good measure, but criticize the form. The ministry’s order does not provide anything, either health support or legal support.
“We will update health maps and improve workplaces. We are working on an ordinance to retain talent and retain residents”
The opposition accused him of being slow to respond to the flu.We are not late in our actions. We are acting in accordance with technical standards, and some actions are implemented gradually.
Will masks be needed in Aragon when respiratory infection rates rebound?The idea is to set up a technical working group and establish a protocol with certain measures based on what happens in the event, and that those measures are progressive, either upward or downward.
But they have moved away.
Yes, we will raise this issue again because the Department is not listening to the community.
Will it be discussed at the next council meeting?I don’t know if it will be on the agenda. What I can suggest is that the shortage of human resources in the health sector should be addressed.
Some communities are already preparing to take off their masks. What about Aragorn?We are law abiding. We can’t make a decision until we have two weeks before relegation.
Why do you think the anti-flu campaign didn’t achieve the coverage it hoped for?Several factors come together. The Ministry of Health did not conduct an information campaign. The arrival of winter was also delayed, and citizens associated vaccination with colds. Accessibility is fully accessible, but some citizens may give up trying when faced with misinformation that health centers are saturated with.
Appointment delays may exceed a week.
We found that in some medical centers it took 48 or 72 hours to arrive, and in others it took more than 7 days.
“We found that in some medical centers it took 48 or 72 hours to arrive, and in others it took more than seven days
What will be done?Know exactly what workloads you have and how to distribute them. This is a way of optimization, although some centers lack professional staff, but this is true.
Do you hope to impact more children?completely. They are the main spreaders of the virus.
Other years, the vaccine is expanded to the entire population earlier. Should he move on?The first to be contacted are the vulnerable groups. When we find that rates in certain age groups are not what we expected, we have to extend the campaign. The decision was made to open it to everyone because, although it has been recommended for children under 5 years old, we found that the proportion was not high.
What percentage of health care workers have received the flu vaccine?
The ratio is always low for us, but I have to thank the medical community for the response, with coverage of over 50%. Although we do wish it was higher.
Are you considering expanding COVID-19 vaccinations?In principle, there will be no public health advice. In fact, the incidence rate is very low: 34 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, including confirmed and suspected infections.
The coverage is not very high either.
I think people see the low incidence and think they shouldn’t get vaccinated.
How many units of Novavax vaccine has Aragon purchased?700 doses.
A surge in respiratory infections over the Christmas period is putting pressure on primary care.We can talk about two periods. So there are professionals on vacation and they need a break and we support them because we have to take care of the professionals because they have to take care of us. And the staff has been reduced. Because there was a lot of pressure and a lot of work at that time. Now, with staff returning and adult influenza rates almost flat, this tension within the primary care system has eased.
“If we give professionals a break, what we do is reorganize the care component with the existing professionals. We have to give them a break”
What about in the hospital?By the same token, our situation has improved. It was observed that fewer patients with severe acute respiratory infections were admitted to emergency departments.
Will surgeries without admission be prioritized this week?This is part of the department’s work and was even announced in the electoral program. Today’s technology enhances it.
What measures have been taken to deal with the influenza epidemic?We have combined the increase in outpatient surgeries with bed capacity. There is no need to suspend any surgery at any time. The operating room is 100% optimized and there is no bed problem for admission.
Should up to 302 beds be closed over Christmas?If we give professionals a break, what we do is reorganize the care component with the existing professionals. And you have to let them rest.
Emergency services, especially urgent care centres, have been on edge with patients in the corridors and dozens more waiting to go upstairs. What measures does it propose?First, people understand that emergency services are for emergencies. The next thing is, sometimes they are delayed longer than we would like due to scheduled medical transport. But these situations are going to happen because people need to be taken care of.
But they support high saturation…In 90% of our hospitals, 98% of patients who must be admitted are admitted within the first 24 hours.
Is Aragon recruiting for non-EU medical and nursing staff?Medically, yes, given the staffing shortages.Nursing, Today, No.
How many?I can’t tell you the number, but it was done to cover up certain incidents and flaws. Since one of the goals of this government is to improve healthcare in rural areas, we turned to these non-EU professionals who have already obtained their degrees and are waiting to gain access to the profession.
Aragon wants to recognize rural centers for mir training.
We are committed to providing excellent training through mir. We ask the Ministry of Education to make the accreditation of centers more flexible, increase the number of places and improve the selection system, as current centers have been found to have vacancies, increased dropout rates or unqualified professionals. Join that square. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology could have implemented these three measures, I don’t know why it was delayed. Faced with this inefficiency, we must provide solutions for our citizens. We are here to solve the problem and it would be better if we had an approved non-EU doctor rather than that center which cannot be open or cannot provide healthcare.
Do you work as a family physician?They carry out family physician activities in compliance with regulations and are employed as general practitioners.
In all industries?Yes. Thanks to these approved non-EU professionals we will improve aid to the Turner Valley.
Due to the shortage of doctors, it is not ruled out that family doctors can work voluntarily until the age of 72.That is our idea, but the Minister has announced that she will not tolerate this measure. Therefore, Aragorn, who complies with current regulations, cannot make a tunic out of its cloak and tell our professionals to do it. This temporary and voluntary measure is no longer in place.
What’s next?Update health maps and improve the work environment for professionals to engage them. We are working on a decree on retention, which means ensuring that residents who have been trained in Aragon stay.
“We are looking at another primary care model but this has to be done with worker representatives”
What does the decree say?
Providing good, stable working conditions through a range of measures, including postgraduate training for these professionals. and working with local governments to facilitate access to nearby homes and more.
Are all majors available?
Yes, our designed works are as follows. We will work on a hospital-by-hospital basis, a service-by-service basis and a site-by-site basis, which means we will work on a specialty-by-specialty basis.
Does Health plan to reorganize the continuum of care?What we have to do is evaluate everything that can improve the care process for our citizens. We are looking at an alternative primary care model, but this must be done by worker representatives.
Nearly 8,000 patients are awaiting intervention, an increase of nearly 700 from last month.It seemed like a disaster and nothing was done, but when the numbers are crunched and you see the reasoning behind it, I tell you we did a great job. Because we improve citizens’ ability and accessibility to experts.
But there have also been delays in external consultations. The total number of days of trauma was 222 days.
We have to understand what types of pathology and testing and what evaluations. That’s what we’re working towards. But looking at the average number of surgeries per month, from January to August 2023, the number was 3,882; from September to December (under our current administration), the number was 5,122, an increase of nearly 30 %.
He announced that he would strengthen his agreement with MAZ.We had a meeting last year and another meeting to optimize it. We found that of the more than 300 surgeries originally planned, less than 40 were actually implemented. We have already reached nearly 80, and the goal is to promote them.
In military trauma units, 1,500 patients have been delayed for up to 18 months and at least 300 are awaiting surgery.What happens is that they are not entered into the system and no action is taken. We still need to continue investigating. We never thought there were any bad intentions, but the previous government did too much, precisely in the areas where it seemed to make the most noise.
Call for a health pact.This is a fundamental question that I have always kept in mind and an issue in electoral planning. The fact that we’re looking at the numbers every day to see if I can publish some negative news about the current administration without offering a solution doesn’t help. Fundamentally, it is not good for health or the improvement of the health of Aragonese citizens.