Theatres at Carlos Haya Hospital ‘moved, not shut down’

TWO operating theatres in A & E at Malaga’s Carlos Haya hospital have been closed since March 2011.

At the time, staff believed the closures were temporary and necessary for structural repairs to accommodate new equipment, claims nursing union SATSE.

Staff and equipment were moved to another part of the hospital, alongside the theatres used for scheduled operations. Closing the A & E operating theatres brought “drastic changes,” according to SATSE, causing “numerous problems”.

Last February SATSE asked the management when the theatres would be ready.

“Nothing has been done to ensure that they can be used again,” the union claimed.

“More than a year later the hospital is still waiting for official permission.”

The theatres were not closed, management sources insist, but moved in order to make the best possible use of space and equipment.

Thanks to the reorganisation, there has been a 15 per cent increase in major day surgery compared with 2011, the same sources said.