The Medical Union has denounced that the Urgent Medical Care Service (SAMU) in Alcoy and its region operated this Friday without a doctor on board, a situation that allegedly breaches current regulations and poses a risk to both patient care and healthcare professionals. The information provided by the Ministry of Health is limited to describing the situation as temporary, contrary to the union's assertion that it also affects other localities.
The delegate of the Medical Union for SAMU, Jorge Esteller, explained that the unit operated from 9:00 AM with only a nurse and two driver technicians, as the physician's position had not been filled. According to his account, he learned of this circumstance "by chance" and stated he could not contact the management of the Health Emergency Service (SES) for explanations.
Esteller maintains that this situation is not an isolated incident and fears it could be repeated in other parts of the province of Alicante. He regrets that the service management is not providing information on the scope of this problem or the number of units that may be operating without a doctor.
The delegate recalls that the usual operation of a SAMU unit involves a team composed of a doctor, a nurse, and a driver technician. In his opinion, dispensing with the physician substantially alters the care capacity of these units, especially when they must intervene in time-sensitive pathologies, particularly with critical patients.
In this regard, he warns that the responsibility assumed by nursing staff in these circumstances is "very high." He explains that although protocols have been established to address the shortage of doctors, they do not replace the specific competencies of a physician and could leave professionals in a situation of legal insecurity if an adverse outcome occurs.
“"It's as if an ICU had no intensivists"
The union representative further contends that this practice has become normalized over time due to the scarcity of physicians, although he insists it still does not comply with current legislation. "It seems everything is fine until something tragic happens." Meanwhile, sources from the Ministry of Health estimated that the case in Alcoy could be reduced to a specific incident.
Esteller also criticizes the protocols implemented years ago to compensate for the absence of doctors through telephone support from a medical coordinator at the coordination center. These measures were conceived to alleviate the shortage of specialists but "have no validity nor the backing of any medical entity" to support the substitution of the physician's physical presence with telephone instructions.
For this reason, the Medical Union plans to bring this situation to the attention of the Ombudsman of the Valencian Community. The objective, as Esteller explains, is for the body to study whether there is a breach of the regulations governing the composition of SAMU units and the consequences this may have for both patients and professionals.
The union insists that the problem transcends the specific case of Alcoy and calls on the Ministry of Health and the management of the Health Emergency Service to provide transparent information on the number of units operating without a doctor in the Valencian Community, as well as on the measures planned to ensure the coverage of these positions.
