“From the PSOE we will demand that public assets remain in public hands, because public-private collaboration is one thing, but what the PP intends is to privatize a space for scientific and research development in the space of the old Cantabria Residence.” In this way, the general secretary and parliamentary spokesperson of the PSOE of Cantabria, Pablo Zuloaga, has spoken out against the privatization plans of the future Health Science and Technology Park promoted by the Government chaired by María José Sáenz de Buruaga (PP ), and which is scheduled to be built in Santander.
As confirmed by the Minister of Health, César Pascual (PP), in a recent parliamentary appearance, the department he directs intends to put this infrastructure in private hands, which will be built on the site left by the demolition of the old health complex. Residencia Cantabria, a program that is increasingly more defined, to the point that a foundation will be established to direct it, which will be controlled by the main investors in the project.
The socialist general secretary recalled when asked by this newspaper that the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital “took on units and services to be able to develop a public, not private, research center on the site of the former Cantabria Residence,” and that, to do so, New services such as the Proton Therapy Unit were located on the hospital grounds so as not to hinder the construction of the Science Park, but always in the public sphere.
“The objective of the PSOE from the Government in the last legislature was for us to have a new space for scientific research and development linked to health from the public sphere. “It took 14 months for the Popular Party to come out and explain to us that its obsession and ambition is to put public assets and the development capacity linked to Valdecilla, Idival or the Virtual Hospital into private hands,” he said. Zuloaga at a press conference.
Information and transparency
Following the information published this past Tuesday by elDiario.es, the Socialist Party has demanded information from the Minister of Health about the changes in plans that have led to the idea of a private foundation, controlled by the investment partners of the project.
“They have talked about a public foundation and now we know that it will be in private hands. We want to know why it is, because the PSOE launched major projects at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital that guaranteed that we could convert the space of the Cantabria Residence into an unprecedented scientific research center in our autonomous community,” the leader insisted. socialist.
Zuloaga also recalled that various institutes and units are in Valdecilla to clear the Cantabria Residence site from use. “We did it with the Proton Therapy Unit, we did it with the Virtual Hospital, we did it with Idival or with projects like Cohorte Cantabria – he said -. That is why I am concerned that all this development that Cantabria has managed from the public with a lot of effort from the Administration and public budgets will now pass into private hands and that we will once again see a new ‘Health business’ label where the PP sees the opportunity. “to enrich a few instead of enriching the citizens of Cantabria.”
Union criticism
For her part, Arantxa Cossío, head of Health in the Comisiones Obreras union, has also spoken out against the privatization plan for the Health Park: “We think that health care has to be public, universal and managed from the public. We know that the policy of this Ministry, today, is what it is; But if we leave part of the management in the hands of the private sector, as we already have in Valdecilla and we have already seen the quality we have, we cannot see it favorably,” said the union official.
Cossío made this statement in a public appearance in which the union announced the launch of the ‘Save the health of Cantabria’ campaign, with which it will collect signatures and mobilize in defense of the public health of the community against “ “the political drift of the Ministry of Health, which is reducing access to health care for many citizens throughout Cantabria and pushing the health professionals of the Cantabrian Health Service (SCS) to the limit.” CCOO does not rule out that street mobilizations will be called at approximately the end of November.