The flu is here and the sniffers, sneezers and soggy-hanky brigade are flocking to medical centres, hospitals and witch doctors for relief from their torment.

Hospital Santa Ana is understaffed and overworked; they’re short handed in A&E and even in the ICU, according to the health-workers union (Satse). This staff shortage is accentuated by members being off sick themselves, on top of the doctor/nurse drain; i.e., professionals refusing this particular posting because of its problems.

The union is demanding that the ‘bajas’ be temporarily filled to cope with the seasonal flu influx and that the number of nurses should be increased from eight to ten in the ICU (there are no available beds left as all eight are occupied).

Management at Santa Ana has hired four nurses and two assistant nurses for the ICU but the union points out that their contracts are only for ten days (extendable) whereas the ICU needs continuity not a coming and going of staff who have no sooner learnt the idiosyncrasies of this particular ICU than their contracts terminate.

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