Something of a follow-up day today. Follow-up to two stories, one about Columbus, the other about "Sun, Sea and A&E". Both stem from comments received.
To Columbus first, and the piece on The Columbus Industry. The author of the comment describes much of the evidence that seeks to establish Columbus's place of birth as anywhere other than Genoa as "flim flam". A rather good expression. I must use it myself some time. Intuitively, I cannot go along with the non-Genoa hypotheses, while factually there is, as the commentator points out, much which does uphold the Genoa argument.
When the book by Estelle Irizarry and its findings were being reported, it was being said that it had been proved that Columbus was Catalan. The book has done no such thing. Had it been irrefutably proved, then there would have been one hell of a song and dance. But there wasn't, because it hadn't been. What the book has done is to advance an important contribution to the Columbus debate, one that underscores previous work that has sought to make the Catalan link. And it is genuinely important as it has addressed Columbus's use of language, one that has baffled historians and also baffled his contemporaries, such as Las Casas. Irizarry may have established a Catalan element and also established that Columbus spoke Catalan (or a Ladino variant) before Castilian, but this, in itself, does not mean that he might not have acquired this somewhere other than Catalonia or Aragon. Until it can be proved, indisputably, that Columbus was born somewhere other than Genoa, the debate will continue, and the Genoa argument will continue to hold sway.
Mallorca on the telly
And so to "Sun, Sea and A&E". I think I have upset someone, namely Gill Bucklitsch, the lady who works at Muro hospital, is featured on the programme and who was interviewed by "The Bulletin", something that inspired an earlier piece. She found it "rather insulting". In which case I apologise. It is not my intention to offend.
Moving on, the piece was one about the celebrity that comes from reality TV and also TV's portrayal of Mallorca, one that I described as "telly froth". I'm afraid that I don't buy the argument that reality TV is somehow promotion for Mallorca. That "Sun, Sea and A&E" shows local health services and staff in a positive light is commendable, but do people choose their holidays on the basis of medical provision? Perhaps they ought to, in which case they wouldn't go to Egypt if they heard of the story of the eight-year-old girl who was whisked away from her parents, suspected of having landed with swine flu.
When Clarkson and the boys came to do their "Top Gear" show, it was also said that this would be good for Mallorca. Why? It was a programme about cars and a rally, not a travelogue. The interest for some would have been heightened as they would have known the location, that I can see, but it would not necessarily result in a sudden rush of bookings from those who didn't. That there is now talk of a new race-track for Mallorca may be beneficial, though don't let's expect an Abu Dhabi and Button and Vettel haring around a Mallorcan F1 circuit any time soon. Nevertheless, with the sun shining, Mallorca did look pretty good during whatever it was the Top Gear trio were doing, and I can't pretend to understand what, other than the fact they were driving cars - some of the time.
Otherwise, what would make for good TV for Mallorca? Travel shows, yes, a decent drama series, yes. A soap might even do it. And then there might be historical dramas. Chopin's winter in Mallorca wouldn't do, as a truthful telling would reveal how much he disliked Valldemossa. Robert Graves possibly, though I'm not sure what. Or how about the Moors and the Christians? Shot on location around Pollensa, though the chances of a British production team doing it would be remote, on the grounds of religious insensitivity. Shame, it could make a rollicking good drama. The story of the reclaiming of Albufera? Shot on location around Alcúdia, Sa Pobla and Muro. There are probably any number of possibilities that would be genuinely meaningful.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Superb, The Decemberists. This is them on Letterman, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlb197LmwSw. And here is the shorter version of the O Valencia video.
Today's title - this was a film with George C. Scott, and there was also a song by one of the most distinctive female vocalists from the '60s and '70s.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Showing posts with label Hospital General de Muro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hospital General de Muro. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I've Been Waiting So Long
The fiestas and fairs of Mallorca are often the signal for the appearance of "giants", the peculiar models that often have an air of American Amish or puritan about their appearance. There is another type of giantism. It was on display at the fair in Muro at the weekend and will be at the prestigious "Dijous Bo" fair in Inca tomorrow (Thursday). In Muro there were giant pumpkins; indeed the fair itself was dedicated to the pumpkin (they do some strange things here, that's for sure). The winner of the competition to find the largest pumpkin had one that weighed in at 93.5 kilos. That's a whole lot of pumpkin, but with so much of it knocking around, the local restaurants were able to prepare dishes of a pumpkin nature. So if you don't like pumpkin, best to give the annual Muro fair a miss. This was the second year that the pumpkin had taken pride of place, and doubtless there will be the hat-trick next year.
If, on the other hand, you prefer something comprising sugar and fat then the Dijous Bo gig will be just the event for you. There will be one huge great ensaimada to feast your eyes on and presumably also to feast on. It will be some 15 metres in diameter. 15 metres in diameter of something that will do you no good. It is a curiosity that for all that healthy Mediterranean diet that one is supposed to enjoy here, there is a local delicacy as junk as the ensaimada. And they make such a big deal of something as dull and unhealthy as it is. If you have not sampled an ensaimada, my advice is don't bother. Just look at it - all 15 metres in diameter of it.
It is how long, a year, since the Alcúdia hospital closed? It may not have been perfect, but there were procedures that it was very good at. Take the simple one of having a blood test. Since Alcúdia closed, those of us who fork out for the not especially expensive private medical insurance that is available here, go to the hospital in Playa de Muro. Just up the road, for me at any rate. Shouldn't be a problem, but then there is this business with the blood test.
At Alcúdia, it was the case that you pitched up before ten in the morning and handed in the form at the main reception. The nurse, who was in a room more or less opposite the reception, would come and collect the forms of the patients as they had been presented, i.e. in order of arrival. Not that there were ever that many patients. You might wait ten minutes and ... you might feel a bit of a prick, sir (not that they say that here of course), apply a plaster and now get out. Very simple and very orderly.
Contrast this with the Muro hospital. Go to reception, and you are instructed to head off downstairs. There, there are numerous people milling around, some standing, some sitting. You head to the laboratory reception and a kindly Mallorcan woman who speaks perfect English stops you and says that the chap will come out and collect your papers and that there are these other people before you. (You realise that many of those milling around, including the Mallorcan lady, have already had a visitation from the chap and that they are, therefore, all before you.) You thank her and go and stand around for some twenty minutes, trying to ignore a child who is staring at you, during which time more people turn up and are told what is happening by this Mallorcan lady patient. You see, it's not just stupid Brits who have no clue, no one has a clue. Then the chap appears and of course everyone who is in the second wave of chap-visitation rushes towards him. You calculate that you should be third in the queue, and so you push yourself into that position - with success; that Mallorcan lady has told all those after you the same thing, so they do at least have an inkling as to where they should be in the non-existent order of things. Then you sit down, and sit down next to a gentleman from Puerto Pollensa who you have overheard talking to that same helpful Mallorcan lady and who you heard mention the fact that he was from Woking. And so you talk to him as Woking used to once be part of your manor. He says that really it would be just as easy going to the national health hospital in Inca, this is all chaotic. You agree, there is no system. You sit, and sit, and among the patients before you are one and then a second family with a young child. The first child screams the place down from inside the laboratory. It goes on for an intolerably long time. What on earth are they doing to him? He finally emerges red-faced and red-eyed, and everyone looks at the poor little mite who was the same one that had been staring at you. And then the second family, and the boy screams his head off for an intolerably long time. A third family, who are to come after you, sit there, and their little girl stares towards where the screams are coming from. And eventually it is your turn, and it takes all of a minute and it is done. But you have waited an hour and a half and reckon that maybe it might indeed be better to just go to the national health hospital in future instead and also to reckon that Clinica Juaneda, the operators of both Alcúdia and Muro hospitals, have cut their service levels since closing the Alcúdia branch. That wait though. Enough to make you scream.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Fifth Dimension, "Wedding Bell Blues" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMhWQgkZ8c). Today's title - a line from a mega blues trio; lick your lips, kitty - it's warm.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
If, on the other hand, you prefer something comprising sugar and fat then the Dijous Bo gig will be just the event for you. There will be one huge great ensaimada to feast your eyes on and presumably also to feast on. It will be some 15 metres in diameter. 15 metres in diameter of something that will do you no good. It is a curiosity that for all that healthy Mediterranean diet that one is supposed to enjoy here, there is a local delicacy as junk as the ensaimada. And they make such a big deal of something as dull and unhealthy as it is. If you have not sampled an ensaimada, my advice is don't bother. Just look at it - all 15 metres in diameter of it.
It is how long, a year, since the Alcúdia hospital closed? It may not have been perfect, but there were procedures that it was very good at. Take the simple one of having a blood test. Since Alcúdia closed, those of us who fork out for the not especially expensive private medical insurance that is available here, go to the hospital in Playa de Muro. Just up the road, for me at any rate. Shouldn't be a problem, but then there is this business with the blood test.
At Alcúdia, it was the case that you pitched up before ten in the morning and handed in the form at the main reception. The nurse, who was in a room more or less opposite the reception, would come and collect the forms of the patients as they had been presented, i.e. in order of arrival. Not that there were ever that many patients. You might wait ten minutes and ... you might feel a bit of a prick, sir (not that they say that here of course), apply a plaster and now get out. Very simple and very orderly.
Contrast this with the Muro hospital. Go to reception, and you are instructed to head off downstairs. There, there are numerous people milling around, some standing, some sitting. You head to the laboratory reception and a kindly Mallorcan woman who speaks perfect English stops you and says that the chap will come out and collect your papers and that there are these other people before you. (You realise that many of those milling around, including the Mallorcan lady, have already had a visitation from the chap and that they are, therefore, all before you.) You thank her and go and stand around for some twenty minutes, trying to ignore a child who is staring at you, during which time more people turn up and are told what is happening by this Mallorcan lady patient. You see, it's not just stupid Brits who have no clue, no one has a clue. Then the chap appears and of course everyone who is in the second wave of chap-visitation rushes towards him. You calculate that you should be third in the queue, and so you push yourself into that position - with success; that Mallorcan lady has told all those after you the same thing, so they do at least have an inkling as to where they should be in the non-existent order of things. Then you sit down, and sit down next to a gentleman from Puerto Pollensa who you have overheard talking to that same helpful Mallorcan lady and who you heard mention the fact that he was from Woking. And so you talk to him as Woking used to once be part of your manor. He says that really it would be just as easy going to the national health hospital in Inca, this is all chaotic. You agree, there is no system. You sit, and sit, and among the patients before you are one and then a second family with a young child. The first child screams the place down from inside the laboratory. It goes on for an intolerably long time. What on earth are they doing to him? He finally emerges red-faced and red-eyed, and everyone looks at the poor little mite who was the same one that had been staring at you. And then the second family, and the boy screams his head off for an intolerably long time. A third family, who are to come after you, sit there, and their little girl stares towards where the screams are coming from. And eventually it is your turn, and it takes all of a minute and it is done. But you have waited an hour and a half and reckon that maybe it might indeed be better to just go to the national health hospital in future instead and also to reckon that Clinica Juaneda, the operators of both Alcúdia and Muro hospitals, have cut their service levels since closing the Alcúdia branch. That wait though. Enough to make you scream.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Fifth Dimension, "Wedding Bell Blues" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMhWQgkZ8c). Today's title - a line from a mega blues trio; lick your lips, kitty - it's warm.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Oh Doctor, I’m In Trouble
One always looks for some balance. I have had cause (justifiable) for slagging off the Juaneda group for its handling of the hospital closure affair, but I have never once questioned its medical capabilities. And now I have had first-hand experience.
Like many who have private insurance here, I used to use Hospital d’Alcúdia as a sort of doctor’s surgery. One could pitch up and see a doctor in no time. It was a damn sight more convenient than schlepping all the way to Muro town to see the national-health doctor to whom I am assigned (it also short-cuts the system as you merely get referred to a specialist in any event).
With the move to the Hospital General de Muro in Playa de Muro, I went along yesterday. I have been suffering skin irritations, caused – perhaps – by some medication. I wanted to see the doctor from Alcúdia who had prescribed the original medication. He wasn’t available; he is now also the kind of senior registrar at Muro, the top medical man. Anyway, they booked me in there and then to see a doctor. Waited a few minutes, saw him, a nurse injected me in the backside and then, as I was pulling my pants up, in walks the senior guy. “You wanted to see me,” he said. I had not expected him at all.
The Muro hospital is much more pleasant than the old Alcúdia one. The actual doctor consultation was more like being at a doctor’s surgery than used to be the case at Alcúdia. And you know what? At the reception, there was a lady with a badge which said “interpreter”. You never got that at Alcúdia, except when Helen was working there and acted as one in an unofficial capacity. This, the speed of service and the wholly unexpected appearance of the senior doctor (somebody had to have taken the trouble to have sought him out), and all I can say is very impressive. Never let it be said that I don’t try for a balance.
Oh, one other thing. Returning to a theme that ran for a while last year on the blog, the nurses wear crocs at Muro hospital as well.
QUIZ
Yesterday – The Cocteau Twins. Today’s title – first line of a “comedy” record by which duo?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Like many who have private insurance here, I used to use Hospital d’Alcúdia as a sort of doctor’s surgery. One could pitch up and see a doctor in no time. It was a damn sight more convenient than schlepping all the way to Muro town to see the national-health doctor to whom I am assigned (it also short-cuts the system as you merely get referred to a specialist in any event).
With the move to the Hospital General de Muro in Playa de Muro, I went along yesterday. I have been suffering skin irritations, caused – perhaps – by some medication. I wanted to see the doctor from Alcúdia who had prescribed the original medication. He wasn’t available; he is now also the kind of senior registrar at Muro, the top medical man. Anyway, they booked me in there and then to see a doctor. Waited a few minutes, saw him, a nurse injected me in the backside and then, as I was pulling my pants up, in walks the senior guy. “You wanted to see me,” he said. I had not expected him at all.
The Muro hospital is much more pleasant than the old Alcúdia one. The actual doctor consultation was more like being at a doctor’s surgery than used to be the case at Alcúdia. And you know what? At the reception, there was a lady with a badge which said “interpreter”. You never got that at Alcúdia, except when Helen was working there and acted as one in an unofficial capacity. This, the speed of service and the wholly unexpected appearance of the senior doctor (somebody had to have taken the trouble to have sought him out), and all I can say is very impressive. Never let it be said that I don’t try for a balance.
Oh, one other thing. Returning to a theme that ran for a while last year on the blog, the nurses wear crocs at Muro hospital as well.
QUIZ
Yesterday – The Cocteau Twins. Today’s title – first line of a “comedy” record by which duo?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, November 30, 2007
How Can I Be Sure?
The local papers all go with the news that, after the months of rumour and denial, the hospital in Alcúdia is to close: at the end of December. (See previous: 4 November: And When I Woke Up In My Hospital Bed). The managing director, who had until recently been saying that rumours of closure were just that, rumours, has now come clean. The reasons for closure centre on the fall in the number of patients since the opening of the Inca public health hospital, a lack of specialists and the obsolete nature of some of the hospital’s equipment, the latter being something - one would have thought - that the Juaneda group who run the hospital would have been aware of for some while. Most of the hospital’s employees and its operations - in the general sense of the word - will transfer to Juaneda’s Hospital General de Muro. Alcúdia’s mayor still hopes that there might be a reconsideration, but this is no sudden consideration for closure; it has been on the cards for ages. The hospital will become a home for geriatric care.
Part of me says I don’t know what the fuss is all about. At a personal level, the Muro hospital is closer, and so long as it honours my health-insurance company, it really makes little difference; indeed it is better. But for many who use Alcúdia, they will want to be sure as to which insurance companies apply. I was in the hospital in Alcúdia the other day. I met a Mallorcan couple who I know well (there is another aspect to the hospital; though private, it is very much part of the community, and one invariably meets at least one person one knows, but be that as it may). I mentioned to this couple the fact that the hospital might be closing. It was the first they had heard of it (they live in Can Picafort, and maybe news doesn’t really travel that far here), and they were taken aback as their insurance company - the same as mine - does not list Muro in its annual brochure of centres. It’s ok, I said, Muro hospital has it (the insurance company) listed on its website. These are not people who would ever look at the internet, let alone a computer. So Juaneda face a PR issue, one of letting people know how it affects them. I can well imagine people beating a path to the Hospital d’Alcúdia looking for assurance that they will be able to use Muro.
Although the Inca hospital is not that far, I do wonder how the closure might impact on tourists. Go to the Hospital d’Alcúdia in summer and there are no small number of tourist casualties of varying sorts. The Muro hospital doubtless has the same; now it will likely to have to cater for all of them. I hope they’ve thought about that.
How sure can one be on the local beaches? For once, this is not an environmental issue, but a safety one. Apparently there are 42 beaches around the islands that fall into the high-risk category when it comes to drowning; the “Diario” has a map - there are four in Pollensa, one in Alcúdia, two in Muro (Playa de Muro) and three in Santa Margalida (Can Picafort and maybe Son Serra). It does not itemise the beaches, but it is not difficult to know which ones they are talking about. For instance in the case of Muro, the “two” must be the beaches either side of where the “torrent” exits into the sea by the Esperanza complex; for two, read THE beach. The at-risk beaches are not therefore necessarily tucked-away coves. Quite the contrary, they are some of the most populated, which is part of the problem; that, a lack of appreciation of sea conditions and the work of the lifeguards (which needs to be made easier).
I know of at least three drownings near me in Playa de Muro this summer. Yet you would hardly think of the sea there as risky; it is shallow, there are no rocks. But there are, as always, currents, and - in parts - a lot of people. I wrote briefly about the dangers in August when the sea was particularly turbulent (6 August: This Is The Sea). The sea - we adore it, but we should always fear it.
QUIZ
Yesterday - “Refugees”, Van Der Graaf Generator. Today’s title - one point for the singer who had the number one, but a big bonus for knowing who did it originally.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for November 2007
Albufera - 12 November 2007
Alcúdia’s old power station - 23 November 2007
Alcúdia’s power station - 6 November 2007, 7 November 2007, 10 November 2007
All-inclusives - 9 November 2007, 28 November 2007
Archaeology - 10 November 2007
Architecture - 21 November 2007
Autumn fairs - 5 November 2007, 12 November 2007, 14 November 2007
Balearic economy - 5 November 2007
Balearic Government - 1 November 2007
Beach-bars - 3 November 2007
Beaches - 3 November 2007, 6 November 2007, 7 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Blog second anniversary - 1 November 2007
Boats - 27 November 2007
Building - 10 November 2007, 20 November 2007
Cala San Vicente - 10 November 2007
Can Picafort - 15 November 2007
Cartoons - 14 November 2007
Casinos - 25 November 2007
Ceuta - 5 November 2007
City breaks - 14 November 2007
Climate change - 3 November 2007, 10 November 2007
Clínica Juaneda - 4 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Coastline - 6 November 2007, 15 November 2007, 21 November 2007
Condohotels - 22 November 2007
Culture - 24 November 2007, 26 November 2007
Demolition - 6 November 2007, 21 November 2007
Dijous Bo - 12 November 2007
Don Pedro hotel - 6 November 2007
Drownings - 30 November 2007
“El Jueves” - 14 November 2007
Energy - 11 November 2007
Environment - 1 November 2007, 3 November 2007, 6 November 2007, 10 November 2007, 21 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Euro 2008 - 22 November 2007, 24 November 2007
Expatriates - 24 November 2007
Ferrer, Miquel - 13 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Film - 18 November 2007
Football - 22 November 2007, 24 November 2007
Gatamoix - 12 November 2007
GOB - 1 November 2007, 10 November 2007
Golf - 1 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Gran Escala, Zaragoza - 25 November 2007
Grupo Femenía - 4 November 2007
History - 12 November 2007, 15 November 2007, 18 November 2007, 26 November 2007
Hospital d’Alcúdia - 4 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Hospital General de Muro - 4 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Hotels - 6 November 2007, 9 November 2007, 13 November 2007, 17 November 2007, 20 November 2007, 21 November 2007, 22 November 2007, 29 November 2007
House of Katmandu - 8 November 2007
Housing - 1 November 2007, 11 November 2007
Iberostar - 13 November 2007
Illegal building - 3 November 2007, 6 November 2007
Inca - 12 November 2007
King Jaime 1 - 18 November 2007
King Juan-Carlos - 11 November 2007
Language - 24 November 2007
Llull, Ramón - 25 November 2007, 26 November 2007
Marinas - 27 November 2007
Melilla - 5 November 2007
Moorings - 27 November 2007
Mountains - 19 November 2007
Nationalism - 13 November 2007
Nautical tourism - 27 November 2007
Paco de Lucía - 16 November 2007
Palma - 14 November 2007
Playa de Muro - 15 November 2007, 28 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Political parties - 13 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Pollensa fair - 14 November 2007
Pollentia - 10 November 2007
Promotion - 16 November 2007
Roman remains - 10 November 2007
Royal Family - 14 November 2007
Sa Pobla fair - 14 November 2007
Satire - 14 November 2007
Snow - 19 November 2007
Son Bosc - 1 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Theme parks - 25 November 2007
Thomson - 20 November 2007, 22 November 2007
Tour operators - 17 November 2007, 20 November 2007, 22 November 2007
Tourism statistics - 9 November 2007
Tourism strategy - 14 November 2007, 16 November 2007, 17 November 2007
Tourist spend - 8 November 2007, 28 November 2007
Tramuntana - 19 November 2007
TUI - 20 November 2007
Unemployment - 7 November 2007
Unió Mallorquina - 13 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Water supply - 13 November 2007
Winter in Mallorca - 7 November 2007, 11 November 2007
Winter tourism - 2 November 2007, 8 November 2007, 17 November 2007, 19 November 2007, 20 November 2007, 22 November 2007, 29 November 2007
World Travel Market - 12 November 2007, 13 November 2007, 14 November 2007
Yachting - 27 November 2007
Part of me says I don’t know what the fuss is all about. At a personal level, the Muro hospital is closer, and so long as it honours my health-insurance company, it really makes little difference; indeed it is better. But for many who use Alcúdia, they will want to be sure as to which insurance companies apply. I was in the hospital in Alcúdia the other day. I met a Mallorcan couple who I know well (there is another aspect to the hospital; though private, it is very much part of the community, and one invariably meets at least one person one knows, but be that as it may). I mentioned to this couple the fact that the hospital might be closing. It was the first they had heard of it (they live in Can Picafort, and maybe news doesn’t really travel that far here), and they were taken aback as their insurance company - the same as mine - does not list Muro in its annual brochure of centres. It’s ok, I said, Muro hospital has it (the insurance company) listed on its website. These are not people who would ever look at the internet, let alone a computer. So Juaneda face a PR issue, one of letting people know how it affects them. I can well imagine people beating a path to the Hospital d’Alcúdia looking for assurance that they will be able to use Muro.
Although the Inca hospital is not that far, I do wonder how the closure might impact on tourists. Go to the Hospital d’Alcúdia in summer and there are no small number of tourist casualties of varying sorts. The Muro hospital doubtless has the same; now it will likely to have to cater for all of them. I hope they’ve thought about that.
How sure can one be on the local beaches? For once, this is not an environmental issue, but a safety one. Apparently there are 42 beaches around the islands that fall into the high-risk category when it comes to drowning; the “Diario” has a map - there are four in Pollensa, one in Alcúdia, two in Muro (Playa de Muro) and three in Santa Margalida (Can Picafort and maybe Son Serra). It does not itemise the beaches, but it is not difficult to know which ones they are talking about. For instance in the case of Muro, the “two” must be the beaches either side of where the “torrent” exits into the sea by the Esperanza complex; for two, read THE beach. The at-risk beaches are not therefore necessarily tucked-away coves. Quite the contrary, they are some of the most populated, which is part of the problem; that, a lack of appreciation of sea conditions and the work of the lifeguards (which needs to be made easier).
I know of at least three drownings near me in Playa de Muro this summer. Yet you would hardly think of the sea there as risky; it is shallow, there are no rocks. But there are, as always, currents, and - in parts - a lot of people. I wrote briefly about the dangers in August when the sea was particularly turbulent (6 August: This Is The Sea). The sea - we adore it, but we should always fear it.
QUIZ
Yesterday - “Refugees”, Van Der Graaf Generator. Today’s title - one point for the singer who had the number one, but a big bonus for knowing who did it originally.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for November 2007
Albufera - 12 November 2007
Alcúdia’s old power station - 23 November 2007
Alcúdia’s power station - 6 November 2007, 7 November 2007, 10 November 2007
All-inclusives - 9 November 2007, 28 November 2007
Archaeology - 10 November 2007
Architecture - 21 November 2007
Autumn fairs - 5 November 2007, 12 November 2007, 14 November 2007
Balearic economy - 5 November 2007
Balearic Government - 1 November 2007
Beach-bars - 3 November 2007
Beaches - 3 November 2007, 6 November 2007, 7 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Blog second anniversary - 1 November 2007
Boats - 27 November 2007
Building - 10 November 2007, 20 November 2007
Cala San Vicente - 10 November 2007
Can Picafort - 15 November 2007
Cartoons - 14 November 2007
Casinos - 25 November 2007
Ceuta - 5 November 2007
City breaks - 14 November 2007
Climate change - 3 November 2007, 10 November 2007
Clínica Juaneda - 4 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Coastline - 6 November 2007, 15 November 2007, 21 November 2007
Condohotels - 22 November 2007
Culture - 24 November 2007, 26 November 2007
Demolition - 6 November 2007, 21 November 2007
Dijous Bo - 12 November 2007
Don Pedro hotel - 6 November 2007
Drownings - 30 November 2007
“El Jueves” - 14 November 2007
Energy - 11 November 2007
Environment - 1 November 2007, 3 November 2007, 6 November 2007, 10 November 2007, 21 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Euro 2008 - 22 November 2007, 24 November 2007
Expatriates - 24 November 2007
Ferrer, Miquel - 13 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Film - 18 November 2007
Football - 22 November 2007, 24 November 2007
Gatamoix - 12 November 2007
GOB - 1 November 2007, 10 November 2007
Golf - 1 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Gran Escala, Zaragoza - 25 November 2007
Grupo Femenía - 4 November 2007
History - 12 November 2007, 15 November 2007, 18 November 2007, 26 November 2007
Hospital d’Alcúdia - 4 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Hospital General de Muro - 4 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Hotels - 6 November 2007, 9 November 2007, 13 November 2007, 17 November 2007, 20 November 2007, 21 November 2007, 22 November 2007, 29 November 2007
House of Katmandu - 8 November 2007
Housing - 1 November 2007, 11 November 2007
Iberostar - 13 November 2007
Illegal building - 3 November 2007, 6 November 2007
Inca - 12 November 2007
King Jaime 1 - 18 November 2007
King Juan-Carlos - 11 November 2007
Language - 24 November 2007
Llull, Ramón - 25 November 2007, 26 November 2007
Marinas - 27 November 2007
Melilla - 5 November 2007
Moorings - 27 November 2007
Mountains - 19 November 2007
Nationalism - 13 November 2007
Nautical tourism - 27 November 2007
Paco de Lucía - 16 November 2007
Palma - 14 November 2007
Playa de Muro - 15 November 2007, 28 November 2007, 30 November 2007
Political parties - 13 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Pollensa fair - 14 November 2007
Pollentia - 10 November 2007
Promotion - 16 November 2007
Roman remains - 10 November 2007
Royal Family - 14 November 2007
Sa Pobla fair - 14 November 2007
Satire - 14 November 2007
Snow - 19 November 2007
Son Bosc - 1 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Theme parks - 25 November 2007
Thomson - 20 November 2007, 22 November 2007
Tour operators - 17 November 2007, 20 November 2007, 22 November 2007
Tourism statistics - 9 November 2007
Tourism strategy - 14 November 2007, 16 November 2007, 17 November 2007
Tourist spend - 8 November 2007, 28 November 2007
Tramuntana - 19 November 2007
TUI - 20 November 2007
Unemployment - 7 November 2007
Unió Mallorquina - 13 November 2007, 23 November 2007
Water supply - 13 November 2007
Winter in Mallorca - 7 November 2007, 11 November 2007
Winter tourism - 2 November 2007, 8 November 2007, 17 November 2007, 19 November 2007, 20 November 2007, 22 November 2007, 29 November 2007
World Travel Market - 12 November 2007, 13 November 2007, 14 November 2007
Yachting - 27 November 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
And When I Woke Up In My Hospital Bed
Is Alcúdia about to lose its hospital? The rumours have been circulating for months. The “Diario” ran with this yesterday, and the report did little to quell those rumours.
The company that runs Hospital d’Alcúdia also runs the Hospital General de Muro, close by in Playa de Muro. With the recent opening of the public health hospital in Inca, one could argue that one private hospital in the area should be sufficient.
The Diario refers to this company as being Grupo Femenía. From what I can make out, this is right only up to a point. Last year, the Juaneda network reached agreement with Femenía to manage its centres; the Muro hospital has always been Juaneda. The incorporation of the Femenía centres was part of an expansion to make Juaneda the main player in private health care in Mallorca. Take a look at its website, and one finds much being made of “expansion”. For it to now be considering closure of Alcúdia seems a little surprising, given that management philosophy. There again, consolidation is a perfectly sensible management action, even if it appears to run counter to the main strategy.
Alcúdia’s mayor says that there will be a meeting to clarify the intentions, adding that there are agreements and obligations in respect of services at Hospital d’Alcúdia that have to be rendered, though - as the paper points out - he doesn’t elaborate as to what these are.
If the quality and availability of health care is unaffected or indeed improved by consolidation, it should not matter, but one suspects there is a degree of kudos lurking here. Alcúdia’s prestige might be knocked by Muro being home to the one hospital in the north.
Were the permanent population the only issue, then there would not be much need for debate. But it is not the only issue. Femenía was founded on the notion of providing health care in tourist centres. At present, the Alcúdia and Muro hospitals cater for the vast tourist population in the north as well as the permanent population. Irrespective of the opening of the hospital in Inca, one does wonder whether the closure of Alcúdia would create a strain.
Talking of the Diario, I must just mention something from its website the other day. On its home page was a photo of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez kissing model Naomi Campbell’s hand. Sweet. Immediately above the photo (and it was immediately above; there was no break between the two images) was an advert. It was for an escort service offering beautiful models for all events in Mallorca. I had to click both images to make sure that they were indeed separate. Coincidental or ...?
QUIZ
Yesterday - Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer”. Today’s title - it’s a line from which song? Clue: Perhaps best known is the version by an Irish group; the song itself has an Australian connection.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The company that runs Hospital d’Alcúdia also runs the Hospital General de Muro, close by in Playa de Muro. With the recent opening of the public health hospital in Inca, one could argue that one private hospital in the area should be sufficient.
The Diario refers to this company as being Grupo Femenía. From what I can make out, this is right only up to a point. Last year, the Juaneda network reached agreement with Femenía to manage its centres; the Muro hospital has always been Juaneda. The incorporation of the Femenía centres was part of an expansion to make Juaneda the main player in private health care in Mallorca. Take a look at its website, and one finds much being made of “expansion”. For it to now be considering closure of Alcúdia seems a little surprising, given that management philosophy. There again, consolidation is a perfectly sensible management action, even if it appears to run counter to the main strategy.
Alcúdia’s mayor says that there will be a meeting to clarify the intentions, adding that there are agreements and obligations in respect of services at Hospital d’Alcúdia that have to be rendered, though - as the paper points out - he doesn’t elaborate as to what these are.
If the quality and availability of health care is unaffected or indeed improved by consolidation, it should not matter, but one suspects there is a degree of kudos lurking here. Alcúdia’s prestige might be knocked by Muro being home to the one hospital in the north.
Were the permanent population the only issue, then there would not be much need for debate. But it is not the only issue. Femenía was founded on the notion of providing health care in tourist centres. At present, the Alcúdia and Muro hospitals cater for the vast tourist population in the north as well as the permanent population. Irrespective of the opening of the hospital in Inca, one does wonder whether the closure of Alcúdia would create a strain.
Talking of the Diario, I must just mention something from its website the other day. On its home page was a photo of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez kissing model Naomi Campbell’s hand. Sweet. Immediately above the photo (and it was immediately above; there was no break between the two images) was an advert. It was for an escort service offering beautiful models for all events in Mallorca. I had to click both images to make sure that they were indeed separate. Coincidental or ...?
QUIZ
Yesterday - Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer”. Today’s title - it’s a line from which song? Clue: Perhaps best known is the version by an Irish group; the song itself has an Australian connection.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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