The members of the Navarra Health Platform have met with the Director General of Health, Carlos Artundo, to discuss public health budgets, and José Donlo Becerril, Mari Sol Saiz Aja and Félix Zabraised Irigoyen, members of the Navarra Health Platform, have denounced some shortcomings that are “perpetuating” in the health system. “The commitment of the Government of Navarra to the public health system is questionable.”

In the words of the platform, the Primary Care Plan is written “still” on paper and not implemented: “There is no commitment to improving care, we have been aware of it throughout the legislature and the pandemic has been a good excuse.”

The situation of Altsasu/Alsasua has also been addressed, stressing that the lack of health personnel is “unacceptable”: “Professionals and citizens are sick of this situation”. They ask that all necessary personnel be hired so as not to overload the other staff of the centre.

On the other hand, they denounced in the Reto para la Prima report that the Department of Health of Navarra has not fully fulfilled the commitment to strengthen the health centers with the new professionals and that they have “sold smoke”: “Where 124 nurses are needed, 41 have been hired, in the centers with the largest population would need 12 auxiliary nursing care technicians, but currently there are 5, 16 professionals of psychology and only 11 have been hired

They also criticize the “lack of commitment” of the Government of Navarra: “They are unwilling to strengthen health care, improve precarious working conditions and reduce the excessive workload.” They say that this lack of commitment is noted in the budgets.

Privatization

At the meeting they did not have time to talk about mutual societies, but they point to some issues that need to be addressed for the future: That mutual societies’ access to Osasunbidea’s medical records is “dangerous”, “strengthens” private health through public health and lack of user rights in the mutual system.

They add that other issues have also been left out of the meeting, such as that Artundo committed to allocating resources to the private sector, which did not mention overtime, reductions in pharmacy expenses and attention to dependence on the public health system.

“The needs and solutions of users committed to the defense of the public health system must be taken into account,” the members of the Navarra Health Platform have requested. They therefore call for account to be taken of the forthcoming budgets and for the establishment of the bases of the Foral Health Act of Navarra to participate in the parliamentary group.