The Partido Popular is accusing the Balearic government of having "abandoned" primary health care at a time when there is a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. The party is critical of what it says are cuts to personnel and services, which have created a "precarious" situation for health centres.
Marga Durán of the PP insists that the situation has been aggravated by the health crisis; it had existed previously because of the "zero management" by the health ministry. According to Durán, there is one doctor for every 1,761 people in the Balearics; 400 more than the Spanish average.
The PP wants the government to prioritise measures to reinforce health care, taking it "closer to the citizens" and recruiting more doctors and nurses. There also needs to be improved cover for staff leave and holidays.
At many health centres, the party claims, there is no doctor or paediatrician, and so residents have to go to another municipality in order to be treated. The "abandonment" has meant that hospital emergencies are overstretched, because health care isn't available at the nearest health centres. Durán refers to health centres which, after the toughest part of the pandemic, are still not open, e.g. Santa Margalida. She also notes that there are centres such as those in Ariany, Montuiri, Petra and Sant Joan where there are no doctors and analytical tests have been cancelled.