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Date Published: 18/05/2022

Murcia health chief says Covid reporting system is obsolete and too slow

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Outdated systems resulted in serious delays in Covid reporting in the Murcia Region

Murcia health chief says Covid reporting system is obsolete and too slow

The head of health services in Murcia has criticised the Region’s “obsolete information systems” which she says delayed the reporting of coronavirus data at the height of the pandemic by up to two weeks, resulting in often skewed figures reaching the Spanish Ministry of Health. This, Dr Carmen Navarro said, caused the seriousness of the pandemic to often be underrated.

Dr Navarro claims that the pandemic not only highlighted the slowness of the Murcia Region’s information systems that are essential to ensure public health, but also “revealed the difficulties that exist and the scarcity of means and professionals.”

The Murcian health services are not the only ones feeling the pressure: earlier this month, the Ministry of Health conceded that Spain’s track and trace system had fallen far short of requirements during the health crisis and has committed to completely overhauling the 20-year-old equipment.

On top of the obsolete operating systems, the president of the Murcian Society of Preventive Medicine and Public Health has highlighted the lack of specialists that exists, considering that 25% will be retiring in the coming years and the regional government is not training enough professionals to replace them.

“A doctor does not improvise, there are many years of training, and for there to be no problems there must be planning,” she said.

The health chief has criticised the fact that, despite plans specifying that each public health area would be equipped with professionals dedicated to epidemiological surveillance, health promotion and vaccinations), this has only materialised in Cartagena and Lorca so far.

Despite the obvious shortcomings, the pandemic has served to promote Preventative Medicine services in hospitals in the Region: since the onset of the health crisis, this discipline has been extended from just three health centres (Arrixaca, Santa Lucía and Reina Sofía) to other hospitals such as Morales Meseguer, Rafael Méndez, Lorenzo Guirao de Cieza, Virgen del Castillo de Yecla and Mar Menor and it will soon be advanced to Caravaca de la Cruz as well.

Image: Pixabay

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