"I looked over Jordan, and what did I see? Coming for to carry me home? A band of angels coming after me." Rugby has yet to become a dominant sport in Mallorca, which is probably just as well. How would the health service A&E departments cope with the additional broken limbs and, more significantly, all those needing their stomachs pumped after a night of swinging low, bar diving and extreme drinking? Someone who might know the answer is Jordan Thomas. And he is? The latest recruit to the regional government's department of Gómez-Fuster, formerly known as the health ministry but renamed after the married couple running it.
Youth unemployment and all that, lack of what is regularly termed "quality" employment, especially for the youth, and all that, but we hadn't realised that PSOE would be employing bands of angels coming after 20-year-olds and handing them out contracts for over forty grand to take on some advisory job in the health service as part of a grand youth training, job creation scheme. Normally, such aspiring young bureaucrats are given gigs as interns and told to learn on the job for a pittance, if that. It is far less normal to learn on the job backed up by 46,283 euros a year pre-tax. Jordan, so we understand, has little or no qualification for his advisory job, so why has he got it?
The answer would seem to lie along the corridors of power in the Ministry of Gómez-Fuster, the one where the minister, (Patricia) Gómez, handed the task of director-general of the IB-Salut health service to Mr. Gómez, aka (Juli) Fuster. Interestingly enough, and no doubt purely coincidentally, Jordan was number three on the PSOE list of candidates for councillor posts in Santanyi at the recent election. At number one on the list was Juli.
When Juli landed his job, the Partido Popular's Marga Prohens levelled the nepotism charge at Juli's missus. She was, as were others, perhaps willing to accept that, although the appointment looked a tad iffy, Juli was indeed eminently qualified for the post (which he was). Now, however, Marga points out that the Ministry of Gómez-Fuster doesn't even have that excuse. And she is not the only one who finds Jordan and the assistance he has been given by the angels of the health ministry more than a tad iffy.
Alberto Jarabo, leader of the Balearic wing of the anti-nepotism political conglomerate Wecan, i.e. Podemos, has wondered if Jordan is possessed of "precocious genius" in the mould of, say, Orson Welles. Alberto would allude to Welles because of his own film-making abilities, though he might also have had in mind the Hearst dynasty of "Citizen Kane" being reinvented as the Gómez-Fuster dynasty. A word on every politicians' lips at present - the politicians of the PSOE-led pact that is - is "citizen". Everything is being done in the name of the citizen. Just listen to Armengol and government spokesperson, Marc Pons, drone on and you will realise this.
So how does youthful Jordan with his substantial salary fit with the needs of the citizenry? The answer, according to Patricia, lies with social media, which I'm sure you will all have realised to be the case. "We know that the great gurus of social networks are around twenty years old," she said. What is she on? Well, it isn't the flakka drug, but this and the dangers of other drugs appear to be the motivation for appointing a youth to a position of relatively high command in the health service: in order that he can communicate with other youth. When she puts it like that, it all makes sense of course, but then if there are that many great gurus of social networks out there in Twitterland, couldn't she have found someone a little further from the Gómez-Fuster home? And to make matters slightly worse, Jordan has blocked access to his Twitter account to anyone who wasn't previously a follower. His gurudom has thus been rendered non-dialogue, which in the new political climate is most certainly not de rigueur. From sweet chariot to chariots of political controversy fire.
* Jordan Thomas has now resigned.
Showing posts with label Health ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health ministry. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2015
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Indecent Haste: Alpha Pam
The Balearics health minister, Martí Sansaloni, considers the case of Alpha Pam, the Senegalese man who died of tuberculosis, to be closed. Closure has come, according to the minister, because the director of Inca Hospital, where Pam was not treated as an emergency (which by law he should have been, despite not having the right papers), has been dismissed and because disciplinary proceedings are being taken against three other members of the hospital's staff.
Sansaloni might consider the matter closed but this closure has come with unprecedented haste. Matters do not usually get closed quite so swiftly in Mallorca and they have not previously been closed quite so swiftly where Inca Hospital is concerned. There is the case of the alleged breaches of data protection law that were committed by personnel at the hospital and which involved Partido Popular representatives at Inca town hall. This came to light two years ago. As far as I am aware, its investigation and processing through the national agency for data protection and courts has yet to be fully resolved. But as no one died as a result of this apparent illegality, then things can be spun out. When someone does die, best to seek closure quickly and hope everyone forgets about it.
Unfortunately for Sansaloni not everyone is likely to forget about it. And those not doing the forgetting include Santa Margalida town hall (Pam lived in Can Picafort), the Senegalese community, the main PSOE opposition and the now ex-director of the hospital, Fernando Navarro.
The town hall is demanding that compensation be paid to Alpha Pam's family. This demand has been echoed by PSOE and other opposition parties, who are also demanding a full inquiry by a parliamentary commission into what happened and into what they claim was a situation whereby Sansaloni and President Bauzá knew but did nothing to prevent immigrants without papers and health cards being billed for emergency treatment (which they shouldn't have been). This charging is now being rectified, but it was indicative, so government opponents maintain, of the approach to dealing with illegal immigrants and those without a health card, an approach that allegedly contributed to Pam's death.
The government insist that two mistakes were made at Inca, one having been a medical error in diagnosing bronchitis and not TB, the other having been a failure to apply the rules regarding the treatment of those without papers in cases of emergency. It was a failure to follow these rules that led to the removal of Fernando Navarro, a charge against him that he utterly refutes. Navarro seems determined to defend his honour. The matter will therefore surely not be closed.
PSOE and the opposition are right to press for a full inquiry. If nothing else, there is an inconsistency in the government's insistence that there were two mistakes. If Pam died as a result of the misdiagnosis, then he did not die as a result of a failure by the hospital to attend to him. Something doesn't quite stack up. Moreover, Sansaloni's willingness to so quickly consign the case to history leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. The expedition in investigating the circumstances surrounding Pam's death, the apparent expedience in sacking Navarro, the consequent exculpation of the health ministry and the exigency with which closure has been sought and gained all reinforce a feeling that the Pam case and its handling amount to a failure of decency. And one comes back to the alleged data-protection abuse affair to which none of this speed has applied. Investigations shouldn't have to drag on for months or years, but a death is a more serious issue than the leaking of patient information; it demands a decent period of reflection and not convenient rapidity.
Members of the Senegalese community on Mallorca met the other day with Senegal's foreign minister, who was in Palma to discuss, among other things, the lack of health care for Senegalese citizens. The minister spoke about the "pain" that his government felt over Pam's death. One thing it may hasten, however, is the return of immigrants to Senegal; the minister was looking at ways to facilitate repatriation. Senegal would like its people to return in order to help with the development of its agricultural industry, so perhaps, in a respect, some good might come of the Pam affair. If they have limited employment opportunities in Mallorca and questionable access to health care, then they would probably be better off returning, but such an eventuality would not remove the need for there to be a full appreciation as to what happened in the case of Alpha Pam. Sansaloni's belief that the case is closed is wrong.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sansaloni might consider the matter closed but this closure has come with unprecedented haste. Matters do not usually get closed quite so swiftly in Mallorca and they have not previously been closed quite so swiftly where Inca Hospital is concerned. There is the case of the alleged breaches of data protection law that were committed by personnel at the hospital and which involved Partido Popular representatives at Inca town hall. This came to light two years ago. As far as I am aware, its investigation and processing through the national agency for data protection and courts has yet to be fully resolved. But as no one died as a result of this apparent illegality, then things can be spun out. When someone does die, best to seek closure quickly and hope everyone forgets about it.
Unfortunately for Sansaloni not everyone is likely to forget about it. And those not doing the forgetting include Santa Margalida town hall (Pam lived in Can Picafort), the Senegalese community, the main PSOE opposition and the now ex-director of the hospital, Fernando Navarro.
The town hall is demanding that compensation be paid to Alpha Pam's family. This demand has been echoed by PSOE and other opposition parties, who are also demanding a full inquiry by a parliamentary commission into what happened and into what they claim was a situation whereby Sansaloni and President Bauzá knew but did nothing to prevent immigrants without papers and health cards being billed for emergency treatment (which they shouldn't have been). This charging is now being rectified, but it was indicative, so government opponents maintain, of the approach to dealing with illegal immigrants and those without a health card, an approach that allegedly contributed to Pam's death.
The government insist that two mistakes were made at Inca, one having been a medical error in diagnosing bronchitis and not TB, the other having been a failure to apply the rules regarding the treatment of those without papers in cases of emergency. It was a failure to follow these rules that led to the removal of Fernando Navarro, a charge against him that he utterly refutes. Navarro seems determined to defend his honour. The matter will therefore surely not be closed.
PSOE and the opposition are right to press for a full inquiry. If nothing else, there is an inconsistency in the government's insistence that there were two mistakes. If Pam died as a result of the misdiagnosis, then he did not die as a result of a failure by the hospital to attend to him. Something doesn't quite stack up. Moreover, Sansaloni's willingness to so quickly consign the case to history leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. The expedition in investigating the circumstances surrounding Pam's death, the apparent expedience in sacking Navarro, the consequent exculpation of the health ministry and the exigency with which closure has been sought and gained all reinforce a feeling that the Pam case and its handling amount to a failure of decency. And one comes back to the alleged data-protection abuse affair to which none of this speed has applied. Investigations shouldn't have to drag on for months or years, but a death is a more serious issue than the leaking of patient information; it demands a decent period of reflection and not convenient rapidity.
Members of the Senegalese community on Mallorca met the other day with Senegal's foreign minister, who was in Palma to discuss, among other things, the lack of health care for Senegalese citizens. The minister spoke about the "pain" that his government felt over Pam's death. One thing it may hasten, however, is the return of immigrants to Senegal; the minister was looking at ways to facilitate repatriation. Senegal would like its people to return in order to help with the development of its agricultural industry, so perhaps, in a respect, some good might come of the Pam affair. If they have limited employment opportunities in Mallorca and questionable access to health care, then they would probably be better off returning, but such an eventuality would not remove the need for there to be a full appreciation as to what happened in the case of Alpha Pam. Sansaloni's belief that the case is closed is wrong.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Mesquida blames problems with appointments for resignation
The story of Antoni Mesquida's resignation as Balearics health minister moves on. There are now more than just personal reasons behind his departure, Mesquida attacking obstacles put in his way for making appointments that have come from within his own Partido Popular party as well as from outside. He has said that he is "sick" of the pressures but accepts that he made a mistake in taking on the ministerial job.
See more: El Mundo
See more: El Mundo
The Ministry Of Unhealth
What on earth is going on at the Balearics health ministry? To lose one health minister may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose a second one within three months looks like carelessness.
I can't think when I have used Lady Bracknell before in referring to a ministerial merry-go-round in the Balearics. Or can I? Ah yes, the tourism ministers who were regularly passing through the revolving door with a corruption exit (except Ferrer, the last of the Unió Mallorquina fun tourism three in the last government, who had to go because the whole of the UM was shown the door).
There is nothing like the same reason as to why the Partido Popular has lost Carmen Castro and now Antoni Mesquida in unseemly short order. There is a same reason, but not the same one as with the tourism ministers. This same reason is personal. Mesquida has followed Castro in citing personal reasons. Oh pull the other one.
President Bauzá says that he doesn't believe that Mesquida has walked as a result of budgets. Which probably means that this is exactly why he has gone. He has been replaced by Martí Sansaloni Oliver. Any bets on how long it is before he develops personal reasons? Hmm, not sure, he has been the director general for pharmacies and budgetary control. Which sounds as though he might be just the person Bauzá has been looking for.
There are all manner of odd things happening health wise. None of them really to do with health as such. Pensioners from the IB-Salut public health agency in the Balearics did a sort of sit-in protest this morning in a meeting room at the health ministry. They are upset at the loss of up 40% of their monthly pension, which sounds as though they have good reason to protest.
The pensioners are one thing, another is the ongoing row about allegations regarding President Bauzá and his pharmacy business. PSOE is now demanding to know how much his pharmacy has billed IB-Salut for over the past few years. This sounds like one for the pharmacy and budgetary control expert who has now been parachuted into the health minister's job. Good luck, Sr. Sansaloni.
It is of course just possible that personal reasons are the genuine reason, though the equation of same ministry and three months apart does make one slightly suspicious that they might not be the reason. Moreover, there isn't really a great tradition of citing reasons other than personal ones for resigning, not just in the Balearics health ministry but also in Spain as a whole. How about Esperanza Aguirre, president of Madrid? Now no longer president of Madrid. With a tearful farewell, she resigned in September (personal reasons and a previous serious illness), seemingly set for quieter days with family and being retired to graze. Then, lo and behold, barely 48 hours had passed and she was getting her feet under the table with a nice little earner at the Turespaña national tourism agency.
It all points, I'm afraid, to hints of a lack of transparency. Mesquida's resignation will be seen as being for any reasons other than personal. There really needs to be a bit more fronting up and telling it how it is, but lack of transparency is a Spanish way.
Meantime, the Balearics health ministry, subject to major cuts, heavily in debt lurches from one crisis to another. If it isn't a minister resigning, it is a hospital director. It is a most unhealthy situation.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
I can't think when I have used Lady Bracknell before in referring to a ministerial merry-go-round in the Balearics. Or can I? Ah yes, the tourism ministers who were regularly passing through the revolving door with a corruption exit (except Ferrer, the last of the Unió Mallorquina fun tourism three in the last government, who had to go because the whole of the UM was shown the door).
There is nothing like the same reason as to why the Partido Popular has lost Carmen Castro and now Antoni Mesquida in unseemly short order. There is a same reason, but not the same one as with the tourism ministers. This same reason is personal. Mesquida has followed Castro in citing personal reasons. Oh pull the other one.
President Bauzá says that he doesn't believe that Mesquida has walked as a result of budgets. Which probably means that this is exactly why he has gone. He has been replaced by Martí Sansaloni Oliver. Any bets on how long it is before he develops personal reasons? Hmm, not sure, he has been the director general for pharmacies and budgetary control. Which sounds as though he might be just the person Bauzá has been looking for.
There are all manner of odd things happening health wise. None of them really to do with health as such. Pensioners from the IB-Salut public health agency in the Balearics did a sort of sit-in protest this morning in a meeting room at the health ministry. They are upset at the loss of up 40% of their monthly pension, which sounds as though they have good reason to protest.
The pensioners are one thing, another is the ongoing row about allegations regarding President Bauzá and his pharmacy business. PSOE is now demanding to know how much his pharmacy has billed IB-Salut for over the past few years. This sounds like one for the pharmacy and budgetary control expert who has now been parachuted into the health minister's job. Good luck, Sr. Sansaloni.
It is of course just possible that personal reasons are the genuine reason, though the equation of same ministry and three months apart does make one slightly suspicious that they might not be the reason. Moreover, there isn't really a great tradition of citing reasons other than personal ones for resigning, not just in the Balearics health ministry but also in Spain as a whole. How about Esperanza Aguirre, president of Madrid? Now no longer president of Madrid. With a tearful farewell, she resigned in September (personal reasons and a previous serious illness), seemingly set for quieter days with family and being retired to graze. Then, lo and behold, barely 48 hours had passed and she was getting her feet under the table with a nice little earner at the Turespaña national tourism agency.
It all points, I'm afraid, to hints of a lack of transparency. Mesquida's resignation will be seen as being for any reasons other than personal. There really needs to be a bit more fronting up and telling it how it is, but lack of transparency is a Spanish way.
Meantime, the Balearics health ministry, subject to major cuts, heavily in debt lurches from one crisis to another. If it isn't a minister resigning, it is a hospital director. It is a most unhealthy situation.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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