Formentera Council requests ophthalmology service for hospital

Formentera's Office of Social Welfare and that office's councilor, Dolores F. Tamargo, are urging the Govern Balear to assure that an ophthalmology service be provided at the Formentera Hospital at the soonest possible juncture. According to the department, such a change is necessary in order to assure that Formentera's population receives the same rights as their counterparts in the rest of the autonomous community.

At present, Formentera residents in need of ophthalmology services find themselves in the obligation of travelling to Eivissa, with all of the inconveniences that this journey entails.

The services provided at the hospital to the population of Formentera are essential in their own right. Additionally and quite significantly, they assure that the island is on par with the rest of the territory, both in terms of services received and job quality for the hospital's professional staff. This factor in turn helps reduce staff transfers to different islands in the archipelago.

As outlined in the Balearic Islands Statute of Autonomy, it is the responsibility of the autonomous community to assure the same rights for each of its inhabitants. The right to healthcare must not be linked to economic factors. It is precisely for this reason that the Formentera Council is fighting to keep basic services available and to ensure both that inequities do not exist in the provision of this service and that the same quality standards are always maintained.

The governing team of the Formentera Council trusts that the Govern Balear's Formentera delegate, José Manuel Alcaraz, will support the local administration in its demands and transmit these same demands to Palma. The Govern must assure that our hospital services be maintained, and that issues of concern like the current absence of ophthalmology at the Hospital of Formentera, be resolved.