The Regional Minister of Health, Julio García Comesaña, and that of the Rural Affairs, José González, visited today, in the company of the mayor of the Concello do Porriño, Alejandro Lorenzo, the works of extension of the centre of health of O Porriño. The holder of the sanitary portfolio of the Galician Executive remarked, in this act, the advance of the works, that in the case of the zone of extension, the percentage of executed work already approaches 30%. Once the extension is completed, Comesaña said, "we will move on to a second phase, which will be the refurbishment of the existing one".
The contract was awarded in January last year for an amount of more than 4.3 million and, "one year later, the progress is already remarkable," stressed the head of Sergas.
Comesaña stressed in his speech, which was also attended by the manager of the health area, Javier Puente, as well as the director of the Galician Forest Industry Agency, Jacobo Aboal, that this project affects, with an extension area of more than 1,100 square metres, "the reorganisation of uses and their distribution between the existing building and the new one". The extension," continued the Regional Health Minister, "will give rise to a new three-storey volume that will house the point of continuous care, as well as the new physiotherapy area, and a large part of the internal services of the complex".
According to Comesaña, the work will lead to an increase, in the adult area, of two general practitioner's surgeries, one for nursing, one for midwifery, a multi-purpose room and a technical room. In the paediatric area, there is an increase of one paediatric consultation, one specialist nursing consultation and another multi-purpose consultation. In the PAC area, the increase is one observation consultancy, two medical consultancies and one nursing consultancy.
In total, the centre would have the following care areas: 8 family medicine consultations, 6 nursing consultations, 1 multi-purpose room, 1 sampling room, 1 technical room, 1 pharmacy room, physiotherapy area, dentistry area, paediatrics area (3 paediatrics consultations and 2 paediatric nursing consultations), 1 midwife's consultation, health education room, social worker's office, coordination office, staff lounge, meeting room, 1 admissions office.
And in the PAC area, 2 resuscitation/observation rooms, 3 medical consultations and 2 nursing consultations, 6 bedrooms, a staff room, toilets and changing rooms.
The Regional Minister of Health also highlighted that the Xunta reinforced this health centre this year by incorporating a new doctor, a dietician-nutritionist and a home care support team, which carries out its work in the vicinity of the centre.
In terms of equipment, in 2020, the Galician government equipped the centre with two defibrillators, two spirometers, two blood pressure monitors and a retinograph.
Comesaña also emphasized that the team of the health centre of O Porriño already approved his first local plan of health, which will allow to improve the assistance, and indicated that his administrative personnel solves, in the same day, 99% of the calls, returning those not attended in the first instance in an average time of 38 minutes. With regard to delays, the Regional Minister said that "75% of the centre's doctors have appointments available in less than four days".
To conclude his speech, the head of the Sergas stressed that, this year, the Xunta, with respect to primary care, has the largest amount in history in the chapter of staff, with 576 million, and that, in the last 13 years, the Galician Executive invested more than 120 million euros in health infrastructures of the first level of care.
Use of wood For his part, the Regional Minister for the Rural Affairs, José González, stressed that, in this health centre, "wood - and more specifically Galician pine - will be incorporated as a structural element in its façade". Galician pine will also be used in interior cladding and in the acoustic conditioning of the building. In addition, wood and its derivatives will also be present in some of the coverings, pavements, furniture and exterior carpentry.
"This initiative is part of an agreement reached by the Regional Ministries of Rural Affairs and Health to promote the use of Galician wood in these facilities”, said the Regional Minister of Rural Affairs. In this sense, it is necessary to highlight the reform of the PAC of La Laracha (already in use) or the future actions in the new health centres of Moaña, Antas de Ulla and Abegondo.
The aim is to create environments that favour a sense of wellbeing in these centres, as well as to promote the use of materials of biological and recyclable origin in public works, in order to reduce the carbon footprint. "We want to encourage the design of products derived from the forestry sector, in the search for green structural solutions that contribute to the care of the environment".
"This initiative in the health sector is part of our policies to promote wood in construction, through grants - such as those awarded last year, amounting to 2.6 million euros," concluded José González.