Balearic health budget is minimally lower

Referring to data provided by the Nursing Union, Satse, he said that the downturn is lower than the average cuts in regional health budgets which are forecast at minus 7% and that everything possible had been done to keep downturn in financing to a minimum.

The regions which are to be most affected by cuts in public health funding next year will be Murcia and Extremadura where the downturn is expected to be 13 and 12% respectively. Following on closely behind are Andalucia and Aragon where both regions can expect a 10 percent cut in health funding; then Valencia (-9.6%); Madrid (-7%); Navarre (-6.3%) and Castilla y León (-5.3%).

However, the Nursing Union “Satse” remained unimpressed by regional attempts to minimise cuts in the health service. Union Secretary General Alejandro Laguna criticised politicians for their sweeping agenda of indiscriminate funding cuts and tax hikes, claiming that quality of service is going to worsen for the public despite the best efforts of the professionals.

Laguna said that rather than cutting funding, the health service would be better served by optimisation of already-existing personnel and the introduction of efficiency measures. Regions who are also lowering their health budgets by minimal amounts next year are Castilla-La Mancha (-4.5%); La Rioja (-3%); and the Canary Islands where just 1.2% has been sliced from spending in 2013.

For the Nursing union, budget cuts in the health service reveal how little both Central and regional governments are interested in maintaining investment in what should be a priority service. Laguna said that governments are “turning a deaf ear” to what the public are saying, as in the last survey undertaken by the Centre for Social Investigation (CIS) it was revealed that concerns over the public health service remain one of the problems most voiced by citizens taking part in wide ranging interviews.