While cases of bronchiolitis skyrocket among children in the Community of Madrid, the consultations of Primary Care pediatricians in the region, with many of them on strike to protest their working conditions, are saturated.

And given the lack of professionals, these cases are referred to hospital emergencies, thus increasing the probability that they will collapse.

That is the entanglement that the Madrid Health Service is facing.

But the problems with pediatrics in Primary Care do not come from the recent cases of bronchiolitis, they are a ball that has been growing for several years until it has become unstoppable.

And the consequences are being paid by families, who in many cases do not get consultations for their children.

It happens in

Tres Cantos and Arroyomolinos

, two of the towns with the highest rate of child population.

Also in

Navalcarnero

and in different areas of the capital regardless of the difference between north and south.

Why is this happening?

Everyone has their version.

Pediatricians themselves

attribute it to the "continued mistreatment" of their work in Primary Care

;

the College of Physicians points to "the overload of work" and "bad conditions", and the Ministry of Health to the fact that their training is "eminently hospital".

The counselor himself, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, acknowledged in a recent interview with EL MUNDO that the position had to be made "more attractive" for them to stay in Primary Care.

Because right now it's not happening.

Losses are common in this group.

In fact, the Community of Madrid lost 200 professionals between December 2021 and January 2022 in Primary Care, mostly on their way to hospitals or other regions.

But there

are also cases of depression, long-term illnesses and maternity hospitals that are not covered due to a lack of pediatricians

, according to Health, which attributes it to the national decline.

And the protests begin to emerge.

Tres Cantos has been the first with several hundred residents taking to the streets this past week.

"I cannot risk my children having a problem and not going to the ER," says Paloma Tres Valles, one of the promoters of that protest.

In this town, full of young families with children, they have two health centers and eight pediatric beds to care for some 9,000 minors.

Right now they have two active professionals because a couple are on long-term sick leave, two for maternity, one position has not been filled and another has gone to a hospital

.

The mayor, Jesús Moreno, calls to "listen to the professionals" and "improve their conditions" and highlights "the great effort" of the regional government, which has increased a position, which has not been covered, due to the increase in the population of Tres Cantos .

«

Not only are there no cuts, but we have one more position even though it cannot be filled

.

I apologize to the neighbors, but also patience because it is a national problem.

The opposition should stop using this issue as a throwing weapon, “says the PP councilor.

Baltic Sea Health Center, in HortalezaÁNGEL NAVARRETE

Professionals have a different vision.

One of the pediatricians who has left the position, in a letter sent to the families, affirms that his resignation is due to "the overload of care" and that "before throwing in the towel" he had proposed changes that "have not been heard".

«

It saddens me a lot to get here, but I have decided to prioritize what I thought was best for me and my family

», He concludes.

The situation is similar in other municipalities.

In Arroyomolinos, pediatricians only last a few months in their position.

"I couldn't say how many have seen my girl and she is four years old," says Lucía Sánchez, a resident of the town.

In Navalcarnero, it has been two years without having the service covered in the afternoon

.

"Nobody wants that shift because of the terrible working conditions," says a professional from the health center.

Nor is there much difference in the city of Madrid, where there are several health centers that suffer "a significant decline" in their pediatric staff.

Although the southern zone, traditionally with a higher population density and worse socioeconomic conditions, suffers especially from this lack of professionals, other parts of the capital also face the same problem.

The Baltic Sea, in the heart of the Hortaleza district, is a good example.

Because there its seven professionals

have gone in the last five years from having a quota of 800 children per toilet to 1,200 and from caring for about 20 minors per day to doubling them

.

And this occurs because there they have taken over the little ones from the new Valdebebas developments, without a health center yet, and because they only have two of the seven permanent pediatricians on staff due to casualties of all kinds.

To them should be added some hourly reinforcement that decongests the work.

«I had never considered leaving my job because I have always been a great defender of Primary Care, but

for the first time in seven years I have done so because I am seeing my patients on a piece-rate basis and I cannot treat them with quality

» , says Elena, one of the professionals in the Baltic Sea.

The argument is repeated among several pediatricians in the southern part of the city.

In the Orcasur center there is only one pediatrician because the second will be on paternity leave for the next six months with 2,200 health cards only for children for one person.

In Joaquín Rodrigo, Usera, there are two covered positions and two vacancies for months in the afternoon and during the summer a resident pediatrician had to assume three consultations.

At General Ricardos, of the five positions, one is unfilled and another has been on leave for two years

.

"Pediatricians cannot be replaced by family doctors because our training is different," says a pediatrician who does not want to give her name.

«I am not leaving because these people need me, they have nothing else and they come with many pathologies.

I have better offers from the public and the private, but my conscience wins, “concludes another.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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