Union slates summer hospital bed closures

A TOTAL of 338 beds will be closed this summer at the Torrecardenas complex.
The loss of 230 beds at Torrecardenas hospital and 108 at the adjoining Cruz Roja geriatric hospital was termed “deplorable” by the CSIF civil servants’ union. This will directly affect the medical care available to users, said Antonio Moreno, president of the union’s health section in Almeria.
Relocating patients with different ailments on the same wards was another negative effect of SAS policies for Torrecardenas, the union claimed, especially when summer tourism increases Almeria’s population.
“We want a change of strategy and are calling on the administration to use its imagination. Instead of closing entire wards this summer they should be providing more health services,” Moreno declared.
The SAS needed to take “real steps” instead of its “cut and paste” measures that are repeated year after year, he said.