The volunteer doctors come from 13 of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities. Andalusia leads the list with 12 professionals, followed by the Community of Madrid with five and Galicia with four. Doctors from Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Extremadura, Asturias, the Basque Country, the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands, Murcia and Cantabria have also offered their services.
MUD believes this response shows that the problem “is not a lack of doctors, but a lack of response from the authorities.” The association is now calling for the necessary mechanisms to be put in place so these doctors can work in Ceuta.
FAMILY, EMERGENCY AND PEDIATRIC DOCTORS AMONG THE VOLUNTEERS
The pool of volunteers also includes a wide range of specialties, which would allow, according to the organization, different areas of the healthcare system to be reinforced. Those who have offered their services include eight family and community medicine doctors, five emergency physicians, four pediatric specialists and five anesthesiology and resuscitation professionals.
There are also doctors specializing in cardiology, ophthalmology, radiology, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, general and digestive system surgery, intensive care, radiation oncology, orthopedic surgery and traumatology, and geriatrics, as well as general practitioners and professionals linked to primary care.
For MUD, this variety of profiles is “particularly relevant” because it would mean that any healthcare reinforcement would not be limited to covering a single professional category, but could be distributed among different services according to healthcare needs.
UP TO TEN DOCTORS OFFER TO STAY INDEFINITELY
The professionals’ availability is not limited to one-off deployments. A total of 22 doctors could remain in Ceuta for one month, while seven would be available for between one and three months and another three could stay for three months.
They are joined by 10 professionals willing to take up positions indefinitely. MUD believes these extended stays would allow the authorities to “have stable healthcare reinforcements if they put the necessary mechanisms in place to hire them.”
The association is directing its demand to Health Minister Mónica García and maintains that the doctors have already taken “a step forward.” MUD is now calling on the authorities to make it possible for the professionals who have expressed their availability to join the workforce, including doctors from Aragon.
