The Málaga Medical Union (SMM) has issued a warning about the "extreme overload" allegedly affecting the Emergency and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) services at the Virgen de la Victoria Clinical University Hospital in Málaga. The union describes the situation as "hardly sustainable" for healthcare professionals.
The SMM points out that increased demand, particularly during periods like summer and the Málaga Fair, exacerbates structural deficiencies. They attribute these issues to a shortage of staff, an insufficient number of hospital beds, and inadequate facilities for patient care.
“"At peak pressure times, over 650 emergency cases have been attended in a single day."
According to the union, this daily figure for emergency attendances is not matched by an adequate provision of professionals or the necessary material and structural resources. This "extreme overload" situation could have repercussions for both staff and patients, who, according to the SMM's account, sometimes face prolonged waits for care.
The SMM criticizes the alleged lack of response from the hospital's management and the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) to a problem they insist is not temporary. They also report a "brain drain" of professionals, with an increase in requests for reduced working hours and leaves of absence due to working conditions and stress.
The union also highlights difficulties in retaining doctors trained at the hospital itself, noting that some residents choose careers elsewhere or reject contracts due to the offered conditions. They consider this "brain drain" a "red flag" for the SAS, indicating structural problems requiring a solution.
The SMM calls for urgent measures, including increasing staffing levels, improving working conditions, providing sufficient beds, and adapting spaces and resources to meet actual demand. "Overload cannot become the norm, and the goodwill of professionals cannot continue to substitute adequate health planning and management," they warn.
For its part, the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital asserts that it "guarantees healthcare for its reference population" and dynamically adapts its services to current needs, utilizing available resources and coordinating across the hospital complex. They acknowledge an increase in summer demand due to population growth.
The health area, comprising the Virgen de la Victoria Hospital, the Valle del Guadalhorce Hospital, and the Benalmádena Hospital, collectively handles over a thousand emergency cases daily. Hospital management defends the network's capacity to maintain healthcare coverage despite peak activity periods.
