The Community of Madrid has everything prepared for the possible reopening of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the La Paz University Hospital and is waiting for the Contentious-Administrative Court number 24 of Madrid to revoke the precautionary reinstatement to their job. of Dr. Pedro de la Oliva as head of its Service, Europa Press reports.
"For the sake of our children, we hope it happens as soon as possible. I would love for it to happen today," stressed the Minister of Health, Fátima Matute, during a visit to the Las Cortes Health Center.
The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has endorsed the Community's decision on this dismissal and the Community's Attorney's Office already presented a letter last Friday to request that the judge lift the precautionary measure on the readmission.
While that decision arrives, the head of Madrid's Health Department explained, the Ministry, in direct contact and collaboration with the Center's Management, has authorized hiring so that "the entire staff is complete" to provide the service as soon as possible. possible, and also counting on "the professionals who are in the hospital."
"All of this is absolutely prepared. The Pediatric ICU has specialists who are even more ICU specialists and therefore we have already been working on that from the first moment. We have always had the specialists available to hire if necessary, but we are convinced that when that happens all the specialists who were originally there will return," he stressed.
Thus, the Community is waiting for the court's ruling so that normality can be restored in the PICU, where since January 16 only Dr. De la Oliva and another doctor worked.
After the "good news" from the TSJM, he said, the Ministry is waiting for the communication to arrive from the Contentious-Administrative Court number 24 of Madrid. "There is separation of powers and we have to comply with what the law establishes and we cannot do anything until they give us that resolution," he stressed.
In its order, the TSJM understands that the "existing situation of conflict" in the UCIP, which has not been denied by the parties, and the different facts in which it manifested itself "sufficiently justified" a change of appreciation "of the subjective conditions that were taken into account" for the appointment of the appellant as Head of Service, a position that is based on a degree of "free appreciation" on the part of the person who appointed him.
The conflict dates back to 2020, with an investigation by the center's Management that ended in the dismissal of the head of service after a letter signed by 37 professionals, including several people of the same rank, in which his attitude was denounced. with accusations of harassment, humiliation and psychological abuse.
He was subsequently reinstated in his position as head of the service by court decision in February 2023, joining the center in September. Then, seven of the 13 pediatricians who were serving in the Pediatric ICU resigned from him. After a request promoted by the Technical Assistance Board, where all the professional categories of the center are represented, his dismissal was urged due to his inability to manage the service, which was attended to by the Center's Management and the Madrid Health Service ( Be more).
Last December he left his position at the center but last Monday, the 15th, by "surprise" he went to his post to report his new reinstatement, the second, starting on Tuesday as a precautionary measure due to a court decision. During all this time, as the professionals have explained, the vacant positions in the unit have been advertised without them being able to be filled, except for two, because "no one in Spain wants to work in this unit" under his command.
