Workers at Santa Lucía Hospital in Cartagena shared a video on social media to protest the placement of patient beds in one of the corridors of the hospital’s Emergency Department.
The photographs depict a row of well-organised beds, each with a sign at the top identifying the box number to which it belongs.
After learning about the scenario, the UGT union condemned it as “horrible,” according to its general secretary, Paqui Sánchez.
The union’s top official regrets that the largest hospital in Cartagena has decided “to create a ‘corridor unit.'” According to the UGT, “this approach has not considered the well-being of the patient, their care, or their privacy.”
According to Paqui Sánchez, “workers are not considered when a unit is proposed in a hallway without increasing staff.” “There are no more doctors, nurses, or orderlies.”
They also worry that putting mattresses in the corridors leaves very little room, making it difficult to exit in an emergency, and they question if the Minister of Health will open the “hallway unit.”
The Department of Health answers that the Santa Lucia Emergency Department is appropriately sized. “In addition to the observation and consultation bays and units, there are waiting areas where patients who come to the service are accommodated while they wait to be seen by medical staff,” they stated. They went on to state that “this area is generally designed to be as comfortable and safe as possible, taking into account the time they spend there.”
The Santa Lucía Hospital in Cartagena reaffirms its commitment to “quality healthcare and the well-being and safety of its patients” and clarifies that any measures taken seek to ensure an efficient response to situations of high healthcare demand, “always within the framework of patient safety and well-being and current regulations.”
The centre declares its “strong rejection” of the photographs and material distributed, which are “totally out of context,” according to a professional “who has worked at our centre but not currently, so she really doesn’t know how the service currently operates.”
The emergency department at the Cartagena University Hospital Complex is appropriately scaled and constructed. The Santa Lucía Hospital offers observation, consultation, and treatment rooms, as well as a pre-admission unit and waiting areas in the emergency department. Patients are accommodated while waiting to be seen or transferred.
According to the hospital, “These areas are designed to be as comfortable and safe as possible, taking into account the patient’s wait time and their functionality.”
“The decision to use additional spaces when necessary due to high healthcare pressure responds to an operational need and is a measure always implemented in collaboration with all healthcare professionals, taking into account healthcare needs and in coordination with the medical and nursing teams, following established protocols, ensuring adequate medical care and compliance with safety regulations,” according to them.
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