NEW PART TIME DOCTOR FOR BENITATXELL

 

© Google maps

• Background information

For more than two years we have had uncertainty about doctors in the medical centre in Benitatxell but finally, after petitions from the Mayor and the responsible councillor Isabel Garrido, we had two doctors, both of whom were able to consult with patients in English, the primary language of those who are non Spanish residents.  

A few weeks ago many residents of Benitatxell received letters in the post from the manager of the primary health system run from Denia informing them of their change of doctor. This was without warning or notification. OVFC informed Isabel of the disquiet and distress that this had caused to some patients as they were hit by yet another change, especially since it became evident that the new doctor would not consult with patients in English.

We received the following correspondence from Councillor Isabel Garrido and her exchange with the medical coordinator  for our area, Ana Uceda.

• Letter from Ana Uceda

"We have increased the staff of doctors in the three centers that form our basic area; In the case of Benitatxell we have gone from having 2 primary care doctors to having another doctor who will alternate between Moraira and Benitatxell, staying three days a week in Benitatxell and two in Moraira (as opposed to Lyam the pediatrician who will be 2 days in Benitatxell and 3 in Moraira).

Due to the fact that we have one more doctor, the patients in the office have had to be distributed among the 3 doctors, which is why patients have been taken away from the other two doctors and given to the new doctor. The same thing happened in the other two centers and the same thing happens in all the health centers in the country when the number of professionals increases.

Patients have been sent a letter at home informing them of the change of doctor, including the sticker on the back of the SIP card where they write who is their primary care doctor.

This is how each doctor has gone from having about 1,700 patients to having about 1,500 patients and the doctor who alternates between the two offices has about 500 patients in each municipality.

Regarding the language, it is not a requirement until now that doctors know languages different from Spanish to be able to work in our health department. We can defend ourselves in some language other than Spanish and try to speak it and communicate with the patients in consultation with our good will but we are not obliged to do so. In fact, people who come to our consultations and do not speak Spanish must come with a translator, and that is the case in health centers and hospitals, and there are posters informing of this. I don't know if the city council can provide them with a person who accompanies patients who need translation to medical consultations, it would be an option for you to consider if it causes so much difficulty for patients.

• Isabel Garrido responded

First of all, thank you for taking the time to explain to me in detail the new organization of the medical team in our basic area. I am glad to know that the workforce has increased, which will undoubtedly result in better care for our neighbors.

Having said this, I would like to convey to you, based on the institutional respect and good collaboration that we have always maintained, that as a health councillor I would have appreciated receiving this information directly from coordination before I found out about it through the complaints of some users, who were surprised by the change of doctor.

I understand perfectly the organizational logic behind the new distribution of patients and I trust that the new distribution will work well, but as a local administration it is essential for us to be able to anticipate this type of situation in order to be able to inform correctly and contain possible misunderstandings, especially in a municipality with a large foreign population that already has certain language and cultural barriers.

For our part, we take note of your suggestion about possible companions or volunteer translators. We will study if we can articulate some type of collaboration to facilitate access to health care for people with more difficulties.

I am at your disposal for whatever you need and I reiterate my thanks.

• Margaret Hales (part of OVFC)

Margaret Hales, who serves on the primary health council for this area, said that some vulnerable people known to social services and receiving help, were distressed as they were unable (according to the imposed rules) to change back to their original doctor for three months. She said that after the hard work of the Town Hall to have doctors who spoke English, and considering that 64% of residents in the municipality were non Spanish, this was a backward step. She thanked Councillor Isabel for anything she could do to assist with translation but reminded the area coordinator that translators were not possible for telephone consultations and this discriminated against the housebound. 

Margaret can be contacted on margaretgeraldhales@gmail.com