The University Hospital of Melilla will open its emergency service tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16, at 8 a.m., at which time the emergencies of the Regional Hospital will be closed, thus completing a key milestone within the operational plan of transfer between both health centers that is being developed according to the expected deadlines.

From that time, all urgent hospital care will be provided in the new University Hospital, while the Regional Hospital, after 25 years of service, will stop attending urgencies, although it will continue to assist patients who are in its facilities until the end of their care.

The Delegate of the Government in Melilla, Sabrina Moh, has stressed the relevance of this moment for the city, “tomorrow we will live an historic day here in Melilla and that is that everything is ready for the transfer of the Regional Hospital to the University Hospital”. In this regard, he stressed that “we are not only talking about a transfer, but about the start-up of a new generation hospital that will represent a leap in the health quality of our population.”

The highest representative of the Government of Spain in the city recalled that “from 8 in the morning the urgencies will be attended in the University Hospital and therefore they will close that of the Regional Hospital”. Thus, he insisted that at the same time that “both the health centers, the Primary Care Emergency Service (SUAP) or 061 will maintain their same schedules”.

In this regard, the Government Delegate wanted to highlight what this step means for Melilla, stating that the transfer will allow “not only to improve the quality of care, but also to have a leading hospital in our city”.

The city’s health system also maintains its normal operation in Primary Care, with the four health centres open from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., as well as the Primary Care Emergency Service, located on Alvaro de Bazán Street, operating from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. and during 24 hours on Sundays and public holidays, along with the 061 appropriations, available every day of the year.

A planned transfer with all the guarantees

For her part, the Territorial Director of INGESA, Natalia Mata, explained that “the transfer of the hospitalization and emergency units to the University Hospital is being carried out within a carefully designed operational plan, whose priority is health”. In this regard, he stressed that the objective is “to guarantee the safety of patients and professionals, as well as continuity of care at all times”.

Mata has detailed that for this “a centralized control and monitoring team has been constituted that coordinates each phase of the process, from the previous clinical evaluation to the ambulance transfer and entry into the new units”. He also pointed out that “the entire procedure has been planned, simulated and organized according to the clinical situation of each patient, with total transparency and with the aim of completing the transfer before the end of the year”.

During the transition period, duplicate teams will be maintained in key areas such as Medical Emergencies, Surgery and Intensive Medicine, ensuring continuity of health care at all times. Once the process is finished, only the Dialysis Unit will remain in the Regional Hospital, whose transfer to the University Hospital is also planned before the end of the year.

The INGESA also recalls the importance of making appropriate use of emergency services, taking into account the availability of different assistance devices, with the aim of ensuring effective and quality care for those who really need it.