• Live. Snow in Madrid, today

  • Health: The snow in Madrid blocks access to hospitals, triples shifts to health workers and prevents distribution to pharmacies

The situation caused by the great snowfall in Madrid hospitals has been improving, not without great difficulties, thanks to the collaboration of different public bodies and solidarity between health professionals, who are reorganizing shifts to cover those who cannot reach.

The main problem continues to be access to the homes of patients.

"More ambulances are trying to get out, but they are not working 100%.

Even if they clear my access to the hospital, there are many streets in Madrid that still cannot be cleared and ambulances cannot circulate,

" Ricardo explained at noon today, Sunday. Furió, spokesperson for the Satse (Nursing Union) in Madrid.

The Military Emergency Unit (UME) has cleared access to the entrances of several hospitals, which were collapsed yesterday by snow, but there are

still difficulties to get there

, both for patients and workers in some less communicated centers.

"There are many professionals who

are still unable to either return home or go from home to the centers to work

. In the hospitals where the Metro works, more or less, there is no problem, but other hospitals, for example the one in Collado Villalba , or the Sear clinic, or Cantoblanco ... those are having many more problems of displacement of professionals, "explains Furió.

As for patients, the biggest problem is in access to their homes: "In some places, the Police are collaborating with the workers, bringing them closer to the Metro. Police, Civil Protection, many volunteers ...

The solidarity of all the institutions public and many anonymous neighbors is much appreciated

", comments Furió.

The problem with shifts, "thanks to the goodwill of the professionals" - many are offering to cover colleagues who live further away, while others "cannot return to their homes and are staying in hospitals" - it is being solved, says Furió, who also remembers that health professionals "

have been giving everything since March

."

The joint statement issued by the hospitals of the public network of the Community of Madrid also points to solidarity between health workers: "Shifts are covered

thanks to the total dedication and commitment of the professionals, who remain active in order to cover those who cannot access

. Regarding the entrances, the entrances to emergencies have been cleaned and enabled mainly, although there are still difficulties in some centers, incidents that are expected to be resolved in the next few hours ".

"Another problem is what is going to happen to the health centers starting tomorrow," Furió warns.

"We have to see how primary care works. We know that this weekend the Primary Care Management has been working hard," he says.

"The Rural Care Centers have had many problems and, starting tomorrow, we will see how primary care opens.

If it does not open as it should and patients cannot go to primary care, patients will accumulate

."

Canceled appointments ... and vaccinations for the Covid

In this sense, Primary Care plans to send 25,000 SMS messages to cancel blood draws starting tomorrow, Monday, according to the statement from the public network.

"Primary Care is preparing to send 25,000 SMS messages to cancel appointments for blood extractions (tests) scheduled in the different health centers as of tomorrow."

"In addition, the vaccination against COVID-19 of hospital professionals in Santa Cristina, Arganda, Fuenlabrada, Clínico, Príncipe de Asturias, Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón, Gregorio Marañón, Puerta de Hierro, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Vallecas, Severo continues Ochoa and SUMMA-112, "the document adds.

Precisely this weekend, coinciding with the weather alert, the vaccination campaign among health workers began.

"He has suffered a bit, but, as the campaign was for professionals, less," says Furió.

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