Strike action avoided at Malaga hospital

A TOTAL of 14 new staff is to be hired at Carlos Haya Hospital in Malaga in order to avoid threatened strike action by nurses in the emergency department.

Seven nurses and four nursing assistants will be brought on board to address concerns raised by staff earlier in the week that they were understaffed and overworked. An additional three midwives have also been scheduled for the maternity department.

Staff at the hospital had threatened to go on strike on November 1 if additional staff were not hired to fill vacancies. According to the workers union (CCOO) at the hospital, the hospital has not hired any new staff in the emergency department since 2001 and there were not enough people to cover vacancies, retirements and holiday leave.

Workers in the emergency department were said to feel “helpless and exhausted.”

The new director of the hospital, Jose Luis Doña, met with staff when he was appointed earlier this week and promised dialogue and an analysis of the situation.

Hospital sources have confirmed that an additional 14 new staff will be brought in to fill the necessary vacancies.

Juan Antonio Torres, secretary general of the CCOO at the hospital, has applauded the decision by management to hire 14 new staff, saying that it will improve attendance to patients’ health and alleviate pressure on existing staff.