The Parliament of Catalonia has demanded from the Government the urgent implementation of an uninterrupted mechanical thrombectomy service to treat severe strokes throughout the community. The measure especially affects the Arnau de Vilanova hospitals in Lleida and Joan XXIII in Tarragona, where currently the care for these patients is limited in hours and days.
The Parliament approves unanimously the motion to expand the attention
The motion, presented by Junts, was supported by all parliamentary groups. In Lleida, the Arnau de Vilanova hospital only attends to these cases from Monday to Friday, between 9:00 and 14:00 hours. In Tarragona, the Joan XXIII hospital offers the service for 12 hours daily on working days. This limitation forces patients to be transferred to Barcelona outside of service hours, which has generated protests and institutional claims in both provinces.
The Paeria and the Lleida Provincial Council have approved institutional declarations to demand the expansion of the service, with the support of all parties. In Tarragona, half a thousand people demonstrated two weeks ago to demand uninterrupted service.
"Healthcare cannot depend on the postal code" - Jordi Fàbrega, deputy of Junts
Commitment of the Government and budgetary context
The Government has committed to guaranteeing the uninterrupted treatment of strokes in Lleida as part of the territorial investments foreseen in the agreement with the Comuns to move forward with the budgets. The budgets also require the endorsement of ERC for their definitive approval.
Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, assured in the Parliament that the mechanical thrombectomy service will be 24 hours throughout Catalonia and that it will be implemented "as soon as possible".
Linguistic requirements and negotiation with doctors
The Parliament has also requested that all healthcare professionals accredit a B2 certificate of Catalan one year after joining and a C1 after two years. This point was approved with the abstention of PSC and Comuns, and the votes against of PPC and Vox.
Additionally, the Catalan parliament has urged the Govern to immediately open a negotiation with the representatives of the doctors to address the demands that have motivated a new strike call on March 19 and 20. The amendment on the negotiation with the doctors was proposed by Esquerra and received the abstention of PSC, PPC and CUP, and the vote against Vox.
The situation in the hospitals of Lleida and Tarragona remains under surveillance, awaiting that the Govern specifies the deadlines for the expansion of the service and the negotiations with the healthcare staff.