José Luís Bancalero, Minister of Health of the Government of Aragon, visits Fraga and announces organizational improvements to facilitate care at the health center
The Minister of Health for the Government of Aragon, José Luis Bancalero Flores, traveled this Wednesday to the municipality of Fraga in the Alto Aragón region, where he visited the Town Hall, the health center, and the Bajo Cinca High-Resolution Center. He announced the implementation of organizational improvements to promote higher quality healthcare.
José Luis Bancalero Flores stated that the Fraga health district “has been neglected for years and needs investment.” The current government intends to provide the necessary care, taking into account both the availability of professionals and the actual needs of the population.
As a first step, since both the Fraga health center and the Baja Cinca High-Resolution Center are located in the same building, a reorganization of the Emergency Department services, currently provided separately at each center, is planned. The model to be implemented will be developed in the coming weeks by the Barbastro health sector, with the aim of putting this measure into effect in the coming months.
The Fraga health center serves a population of approximately 22.000, of whom about 2.900 are under 14 years old. It has a total of 13 family doctors, two pediatricians, and 16 nurses. Six outpatient clinics, located in Ballobar, Chalamera, Miralsot, Velilla de Cinca, Torrente de Cinca, and Zaidín, are served from this center.
The Bajo Cinca High-Resolution Center performs local and major outpatient surgery. It currently has eight inpatient beds and offers outpatient consultations in 17 specialties. In the first eight months of the year, it has conducted nearly 13.000 consultations.
The regional health minister commented that, despite the difficulty in finding professionals, efforts are underway within the healthcare sector to recruit specialists in order to increase the number of consultations. Recently, the Cardiology and Traumatology departments at Barbastro Hospital have been reinforced—these specialists also provide care at the Bajo Cinca High-Resolution Center.
In the area of Traumatology, thanks to the awarding of a healthcare contract, 5.000 consultations and 165 procedures will be performed this year, both at the Barbastro Hospital and the Bajo Cinca High-Resolution Center. Among the procedures being performed are arthroscopic shoulder and knee surgeries and the placement of prostheses.
Regarding local and major outpatient surgery performed at the High-Resolution Center, it focuses on the specialties of Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Traumatology, Urology, and General and Digestive Surgery. Currently, there is no waiting list longer than 180 days. The High-Resolution Center has, among other resources, a radiology suite, two ultrasound machines external to the radiology department, and a mammography unit.
VISIT
Upon his arrival in Fraga, the regional minister was greeted by the mayor, José Ignacio Gramún. He welcomed the municipal council, held a meeting with them, and signed the guest book. Afterwards, he visited the Fraga health center, where he toured its facilities and those of the High-Resolution Center, which are located in the same building. There, he also met with health officials from the local health sector and health centers.
The councilor was accompanied by the provincial director of Health, Antonio Comps, the manager of the Barbastro health sector, Luis Canalejo, the director of the Barbastro Hospital and the Bajo Cinca High Resolution Center, Juan Eito, the director of Primary Care of the sector, María Labarta, and the director of Primary Nursing, Ana López, and the director of Hospital Nursing, Ana Martínez.
