The Insular plans to transfer emergencies to the former University College - La Provincia

The Ministry of Health of the Canary Islands Government plans to move the emergency service of the University Hospital of Gran Canaria to the disused building of the former University College of Las Palmas (CULP), pending initiative of a negotiation to three bands since the ownership and management of the property concern two other public institutions. Yielded by the Cabildo grancanario a la University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the enclosure remains closed since in 2017 they moved to the new buildings of the Faculty of Health Sciences, on the campus of San José, some study rooms, laboratories and the animal house, last units installed there after 45 years in service.

"We already talked to the University and he said yes, he wants a joint research laboratory with us in that space, without problem, it also suits us, but the building belongs to the Cabildo, so we are in the process of seeking an agreement for all ", explains the director of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), Conrado Domínguez, who precisely exercised the position of manager of the ULPGC until September 2016. In his opinion, "the idea is to fix the problem of the Insular emergency at one time, solve it forever, until now they jumped from site to site. site, changes and extensions, but we need to set up a new, modern and spacious service for the southern area, define and size it well, with growth capacity ".

Raised by the Cabildo in 1972 on a land of 6,160 square meters, just behind the hospital, the building of the CULP has an approximate surface of 18,000 meters (basement plus ground and top floors) with ample common spaces and classrooms on an inclined plane, copied design of a similar building built in Uppsala (Sweden), as recalled from the ULPGC, heir to that school constituted in 1973 and attached to the University of La Laguna.

"Starting gun"

There they taught higher education in medicine, nursing, law, philology and geography and history dependent on the Tenerife center, point out the same sources, but also hosted computer and marine science classes at the Polytechnic University of the Canary Islands or laboratories and common offices with the Insular Hospital.

Since last year, the counseling directed by José Manuel Baltar The future transfer of emergency services from the Insular to the CULP is being worked on and, in fact, the "kick-off" of the idea has already been carried out through a visit to the closed building, contacts between the administrations involved and, above all, the drafting of the functional plan.

"We are going a couple of steps ahead," admits the head of the SCS, "but we will not commission the project until the assignment is signed." Therefore, the plan still lacks deadlines, even less budget, to depend on an agreement of three public institutions, conditioned for Government and Cabildo for the holding of regional and local elections at the end of May.

Although "most" of the property is intended to be used in the emergency service, "we would also install some external consultations to free space in the complex and more than 100 beds of medium and long stay", details Conrado Domínguez in reference, precisely, to the increase of the hospitalization units as one of the main objectives of the Ministry of Health together with the growth in operating rooms. In fact, number two of the regional department announced at the end of 2018 a plan to reactivate the Juan Carlos I Hospital in the capital of Gran Canaria during the first months of this year, that is, the use of the last two floors of the former military compound, now in disuse, for the installation of 60 to 80 beds of medium and long stay together with four or five operating rooms of ambulatory major surgery.

Two million Juan Carlos I

Dependent of the University Hospital of Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín, the Juan Carlos I will receive an investment of two million euros that will allow him to overcome and diversify his current use, calculated from 40 to 50% of his capacity and destined to mental health, rehabilitation for minors of Maternal and Child age and dependencies of the public company Management of Services for Health and Safety in the Canary Islands (GSC, with tasks such as Canary Emergency Service o Emergency and Security Coordination Center 1-1-2).

Before facing the operation in the capital neighborhood of San Francisco, which will reduce the entry of chronic and geriatric patients in private clinics arranged, Dr. Negrín already premiered at the beginning of this year the expansion of the emergency service in 300 square meters to increase from 28 to 116 boxes capacity after investing 250,000 euros. A similar improvement was experienced by the Insular last April, when a 250-meter extension was inaugurated in the emergency room to provide 14 beds, a psychiatric evaluation consultation and a professional work area with a budget of 627,000 euros, including at an earlier stage the transfer of almost 800 meters of the radiological service.

Currently, the emergency service of the center located in the Vega de San José has 77 care posts assisted by 28 doctors, 93 nurses, 66 nursing assistants and 37 caretakers (plus five professionals in each of the last three categories after the opening of the transition area in January when the contingency plan was activated) for a reference population of 374,446 health cards for adults in the southern Gran Canaria area, reported from the Insular-Maternal Child Hospital University Complex. During the past year it treated 79,512 patients, with an average of 218 citizens per day and 13.8% of hospital admissions, a growing trend in healthcare demand (71,372 annual with 195 daily in 2015 and 78,568 with 215 two years after) aims to relieve the Insular Hospital with the transfer of the emergency service to the CULP.