Monday, 21 November 2022 13:42
Work on new emergency response base to conclude in one year
Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, and Francina Armengol, president of the Balearic Government, together with Patricia Gómez, regional minister of health and consumer affairs, visited Formentera's newly launched haemodialysis service. Alejandra Ferrer, vice president, was on hand as well, along with local cabinet councillors and Formentera's provincial councillor Antonio J. Sanz.
This new service occupies 50 square meters in the Formentera Hospital, where four dialysis stations and a new water plant have been installed. The regional government has invested roughly €600,000 in the service roll-out, with two-thirds of the sum going to purchase technical equipment and the rest covering recruitment of equipment operators.
To activate the service, the district health authority (Àrea de Salut) of Eivissa and Formentera hired an expert nephrologist, which brought the total number of nephrologist department specialists to five, then dispatched one of them to Formentera to oversee haemodialysis there. The service roll-out will mean Formentera's three current dialysis patients need no longer travel to Can Misses Hospital for treatment, saving the Formentera residents approximately one thousand trips per year.
Ana Juan: "Delivering on long-standing demands"
President Juan said the hemodialysis service and new 061 base made good on "two historical local demands": "This demonstrates that we continue to meet objectives and commitments". Juan described the two services as "essential" and said they "strengthen public health on the island and, in the case of haemodialysis, will save Formentera residents from having to travel to Eivissa for treatment".
€2.8-million emergency response base
The officials also sat for a presentation of Formentera's new operational base of the Emergency Medical Service (SAMU061). The SAMU061 launch came after the Governing Council approved the works contract for an estimated €2,771,290.89 and once the Technical Supervision Office of the district health authority OK'd the project.
The Balearic government has started work on the base in parallel with the unprecedented local roll-out of permanent haemodialysis service. Until last year, Formentera had an advanced life support ambulance in summer and a basic life support ambulance year round. Since September, 061 reinforcements, including the advanced life support ambulance, have been maintained to meet the needs of the local population.
Construction began in early November, with the new base, which will be located next to Formentera Hospital, expected to be operational by late 2023.
Plans for the project were designed by a team including David Bravo and Toni Abril in the architectural office of the district health authority. Bravo and Abril used a model to present the project to visitors.
During the visit, attendees commemorated the start of works by burying a time capsule containing mementos of significant events at Formentera Hospital.
The newly created 890-m2 base will be divided into two internally connected floors. The ground floor will occupy 605 m2, while the first floor (285 m2) will be flanked by a four-vehicle capacity parking area for ambulances.
The new facility will have three on-site resources:
Basic Life Support Unit
Advanced Life Support Unit
Non-emergency Medical Transport Unit
Human resources challenges dictate that the five on-site professionals will be in transit, with possibility of staff expansion.
21 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera
The Formentera Office of Youth Affairs reports that work has begun to develop the third strategic plan for Formentera children and young people. This Plan will benefit from the participation of local youth, organisations and social actors from a wide array of spheres related to children and youth.
The Formentera Office of Youth Affairs is pleased to report that three local pupils took part in the eleventh session of the Children's Parliament of the Balearic Islands held today. Vanessa Parellada, councillor of youth affairs, also attended the session, where the central theme was mental health.
