The resignations and resignations of doctors have left the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the La Paz Maternal and Child Hospital practically inactive after the reinstatement this Monday, by judicial decision, of the head of this service.
La Paz Hospital offers reference healthcare to pediatric patients throughout Spain, being the only center in the Community of Madrid that performs all types of pediatric transplants, as well as a national reference (CSUR) for multiple complex pathologies.
In a protest rally this Wednesday at the doors of the hospital, the doctors reported that, after the reinstatement of the head of service, the unit's doctors had to resign or renounce their contracts to protect their mental health and guarantee patient safety.
The Pediatric ICU staff is made up of fifteen people - four of them have on-call contracts - but, as of today, it only had three residents and the head of service, reports the Efe agency.
The health unions and several hospital service heads have urged the Ministry of Health to resolve this situation as soon as possible, since, according to CSIF, the service is closed and, according to the medical union Amyts, "the unit is left without functions, de facto, by not having enough personnel".
The Ministry of Health has indicated that the service has not been closed, although they have acknowledged that throughout this Wednesday ten patients have been transferred to other areas of the hospital (post-surgical resuscitation, hepatology and neonatology) to guarantee their assistance.
At the press conference following the meeting of the Government Council, held this Wednesday in Alcalá de Henares, the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, rejected that "a dismantling" of the pediatric ICU is taking place, although she admitted that There have been "staff dismissals" due to "the discomfort" of some workers after the reinstatement of the head of the unit.
Ayuso has said that they respect the judicial decisions, while ensuring that the Community of Madrid works to guarantee activity in the ICU "despite the situation", while they wait for it to be resolved judicially.
This situation derives from the opening of an investigation into the head of service, after an internal conflict due to his "inappropriate" behavior with the attending doctors, who for years have felt "vexed" and have received treatment that has affected their health. mental.
The management of the La Paz Hospital decided to remove the head of the service from office in 2020, a measure that the affected person appealed to court.
In September 2023, due to a court ruling, he was reinstated as head of service.
In December 2023, the center's management again agreed to dismiss him due to the "unsustainable" situation of the service, as a result of resignations and sick leave due to anxiety and depression.
Once again, the dismissed worker appealed to the court and, in compliance with the precautionary measures, his dismissal was suspended, so that on January 15 he reinstated himself as head of the Pediatric ICU service. From the Ministry of Health they point out that "all legal actions within their reach are being carried out to resolve this conflict." And they remember that "this public hospital has an ICU with many areas (adults, neonates...) that have never been closed.
Sources familiar with the facts assure that closing the pediatric ICU means that "all transplants and heart disease operations" may be paralyzed, although the Community of Madrid will try to resolve the conflict as soon as possible so that this does not happen. happen.
