The Minister of Health of the Government of Navarra, Fernando Dominguezstated this Tuesday in the Provincial Parliament that all health centers in the Community will have smart switchboard starting October 10.
Viana, Villatuerta and Allo, on October 8, and Ancín and Los Arcoson October 10, will be the last five centers in the network of Primary Care of the Navarrese Health Service – Osasunbidea to incorporate this intelligent switchboard system into its phones.
In a parliamentary appearance at the request of UPN to address the report of the Comptos Chamber on accessibility to Primary Care 2018-2023the counselor explained that “the collapse that the telephone lines suffered, especially from 8 to 10 in the morning, was something that we not only knew in Health not because of the complaints and the discomfort that the citizens and our administrators expressed to us, but because the company that manages the telephone lines warned that their network was completely collapsing.
The intelligent switchboard, whose pilot project began in May In some centers in the Pamplona area, it allows users to choose, if the line is busy when they call the center, dialing the number 8, to have the center’s own staff call them back automatically without having to have I have to call more than once.
This tool, which has been gradually implemented since June in health centers in Pamplona, Tudela and Estella-Lizarra, is one of the measures announced by the Navarrese Health Service-Osasunbidea in spring to improve telephone accessibility to health centers.
The counselor explained that “the reality is that it has been a measure that is giving great results, it is improving accessibility, the perception of citizens and the work of our administrative staff.”
The operating system is that if a person calls your health center for any procedure and the line is busy, a voice recording will indicate the option of dial number 8 to request automatic redial by the center.
This call remains in a waiting queue, in the same position as if the user followed the phoneand once the line is freed, the health center staff will return the call in order. 3 attempts are made every 5 minutes to contact the patient; If you do not respond to any of the three, the user must call the center again.
Regarding the report of the Chamber of Comptosthe counselor has indicated that “all the recommendations have been well received, some are already being worked on, others depend on other organizations and others require an investment that we cannot make right now or it would mean changing some rule that would also take time to change, but everything “What we can cover with the human and economic resources that we have available and the current regulations, we will do.”
Nevertheless, Fernando Dominguez He specified that the report covers “five years in which we could say that in almost three of them the Covid-19 pandemic occurred” and “in 107 pages the word Covid-19 is mentioned four times.” “We have almost three years of the five analyzed that condition everything that happened afterwards and it is named four times. Four,” he insisted.
The counselor explained that “the conclusion of the report is that there is a lack of doctors, they carry out less activity and there are more absences, some of them forced and known, such as those derived from the recognition of gray-haired people.” “Without going into evaluating past decisions, I reiterate that in Navarra the ratio of doctors is one of the highest in the state“, he pointed out.
After this, the counselor indicated that “we have to carry out a correct redistribution of human resources available throughout the territory based on criteria of population, dispersion, communications, etc., work that we are developing but that takes time, it cannot be done in months what has not been done for years and we are not going to rush into something so complex” .
In this sense, Domínguez has indicated that “we are working to attract professionals from other Communities, to create almost à la carte contracts according to the personal needs of each one or working with the MIR during their training in a personalized way to train them and, in quotes, to ensure that they stay in Navarra.
UPN spokesperson Leticia San Martinhas pointed out that the Comptos report “confirms that accessibility to Primary Care has worsened in the last five years and has worsened basically because what is offered by Primary Care centers does not cover the perceived needs of users.” “There is a clear reduction in medical consultations from 2018 to 2023,” he indicated, stating that “there are fewer doctors in Primary Care than in 2018.” “We are already tired of explanations, we must start trying to modify the real situation we have,” he stated.
The PSN spokesperson, Maite Esporrinhas assured that, listening to the UPN parliamentarian, “it makes us want to run away from the Community, because it seems that we are in a catastrophic situation and we can barely get medical care.” “That is not the case, you cannot oppose every issue, and with health, which is one of the most important issues, we have to collaborate together, whether we are in the Government or in the opposition,” he indicated, highlighting the importance of “working away from these exaggerations.
On behalf of EH Bildu, Txomin González has advocated working on the “loyalty of professionals in the workplace.” “90% of health problems are solved in Primary Care and we know that if Primary Care professionals are in their jobs in a more stable way, hospitalizations are reduced, health indicators are improved. Therefore, working to improve this loyalty and the stabilization of staff would be important,” he noted.
Geroa Bai’s spokesperson, Isabel Aranburuhas highlighted that “many of the issues raised in the study by the Chamber of Comptos are already clearly overcome by the actions being carried out by the Department of Health” and has also stressed that the report “makes it clear that There are family medicine and pediatric professionals available. In any case, Aranburu has assessed that the regional Health law, on which the regional Executive is working, “will improve care and accessibility, which are two inseparable things.”
On the part of the PPN, Irene Royo has pointed out that “the report says very clearly that accessibility has worsened in the period 2018-2023.” “There has been a reduction in consultations because there are no doctors and there has been an increase in absences. This, together with greater demand, has worsened accessibility,” he indicated, encouraging the Health Department to “continue working, seeking solutions from the hand of medical groups, who are closest to patients.
From Contigo-Zurekin, Daniel Lopez He has stated that his group makes “a clear commitment to Primary Care and an increase in the budget of Primary Care as part of the solution to the current problems that the system has.” He has mentioned that there is the problem of lack of availability of personnel, “something that does not come only from Navarra, but from the entire State, but it is one more factor to take into account.”
Finally, the Vox spokesperson, Maite Nosti, He has shown himself in general terms “totally agree with the Chamber of Comptos and I believe that the counselor also agrees and is going to undertake some of the recommendations.” To retain professionals in Navarra, he has proposed that MIRs be recognized for this period of work as part of their professional career.