In a recent Plenary Meeting of the Almuñécar Town Council it was approved to send a request to the Junta asking it to provide a La Herradura-based ambulance. The Junta rejected it.

The Junta reasons that ambulances should be stationed near Unidades de Cuidados Críticos y Urgencias (UCCU), which, of course, the village does not have. Almuñécar does have one, which is only five minutes from La Herradura. End of story.

This response, which came in the form of a letter from the Area Manager of  Southern Granada, included a reference to the fact that the Almuñécar UCCU has two ambulances assigned to it and that the small distance between Almuñécar and La Herradura does not warrant the ‘dispersal’ of ambulances.

These two ambulance cover the following area: Almuñécar, Otívar, Lentegí, Jete, Torrecuevas and La Herradura.

Needless to say, the First Councillor for the village, conservative, Juan José Ruiz Joya, is not happy over this: “We don’t understand the attitude of the Junta, which is governed by the socialists, because we’re not only talking about the standing population but also the summer influx, which brings up the population to between 10,000 and 15,000,” he said.

He went on to add, “As everybody knows the municipal ambulance service is deficient, not only because it has to cover La Herradura and Almuñécar but also the Rio Verde villages.”

He concluded with, “Unfortunately we have been witnesses to complicated situations involving delays where a life could have been saved.”

Editorial comment: If there were a village that warranted an ambulance it would be Otivar, not only because it is further away than La Herradura from the UCCU, but also because of the type of roads involved making the journey much longer. An Otivar ambulance would also cover Lentegí, which is a packed lunch and 3-day camel ride from Almuñécar.

On the other hand, the Rio Verde villages don’t triple their populations in the summer as La Herradura does.

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)