The intention of the Executive team is to put a spin on the reform project of the Hospital La Pazwhich has undergone several changes in theory since its presentation in 2019 and has now given rise to a idea full of doubts between the opposition and the people of Madrid, who already know what it is like for the PP – not just under Ayuso's command – put a plan of this magnitude on the table and it turns out to be what is popularly known as “storyline”.
The regional leader has announced this new scenario with much fanfare, as usual, but it leaves many unknowns and deep doubts. if there will be companies that benefit from its existence.
Among the little that is known about the City of Public Health of the Community of Madrid, the investment stands out; a not inconsiderable amount 1 billion euros. This is an amount that doubles the original, although in principle the surface area to be renovated is also increased.
The La Paz hospital is exhausted by the template cutsthe conditions of its professionals and the aging of its facilities: Breakdowns, leaks causing floods, lack of beds and even falling ceilings have brought under control an infrastructure that acts as a bastion of resistance to health – given the tireless struggle of workers – and one of the fundamental pillars of healthcare in Madrid.
A project based in Cifuentes and doubling the costs
You have to go back to 2018 to find the first reform proposal for La Paz Hospital Cristina Cifuentes in Sol. That design predicted an investment of over 500 million euros to renovate a large part of the hospital (320,500 square meters). However, the pandemic broke out and the works were paralyzed, which were supposed to return in 2021 but never resumed.
The current regional leader took charge and promised in March of that year, under the protection of the original plan, that the also controversial Zendal would welcome patients from La Paz during its work. From that mud to the current City of Public Health, a project that has doubled the amount of money it would cost than the amount announced at the time by Cifuentes.
This has been proven Carlos Moreno, spokesperson for the PSOE of Madrid (PSOE-M) in the field of health, who in statements to ElPlural.com recalls that it is a process that “has been in limbo for six years” and that the PP “will take up to three or four times in his election manifesto, with unfulfilled promises. “Time will tell if this is the right thing to do, but the PSOE has been pressuring Ms Ayuso on this issue for some time. We asked her the same month of March, without an answer, and the fact is that despite the unfulfilled promises, the reform of La Paz is urgent,” he estimates.
With this, the socialists hope that the announcement does not remain yet another unfulfilled health promise from the head of Sol, who “if there is anything that characterizes him, it is promising health centers that he never builds, and if he does, he does not equip them of the necessary personnel. Furthermore, the PSOE deplores the “speed” with which the President of Madrid is “closing pediatric services” or the “underfinancing of many public hospitals”. “We believe that the City of Public Health will make a lot of headlines and leave people without access to healthcare for many residents of Madrid”.
Más Madrid is pronounced in the same spirit. The formation led by Manuela Bergerot in the General Assembly looks “with suspicion” at “yet another announcement of reforms at the La Paz University Hospital.” 'The reform itself is absolutely necessary, especially now that the most basic repairs in the current hospital have been postponed for years. Let's not forget that, because it is the most advanced hospital in Spain, it is systematically flooded every time it rains. There is no rush to do it, the Community of Madrid has already made several such announcements and spent more than 17 million euros on projects that have now been rejected,” explains Marta Carmona, health manager of the party on the left of the PSOE. .
Carmoma laments that “it seems like Ayuso's only priority is the stone itself and the stone itself commissions that can be paid out“while an essential hospital for our community and for many patients from the rest of Spain must continue its activities in buildings that are clearly outdated and insufficient to provide quality care.”
What do we know about the Ayuso Health City?
At this point, not much is known about the City of Public Health that Ayuso represents, although the road map provided to journalists contains some clues as to what the original intention is. Thus, in addition to the renovation of La Paz, the macro project of the 'popular' team also includes the construction of a new Faculty of Medicine for the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), as well as a comprehensive pediatric cancer center and a rapid therapy unit.