UGT accuses IB-Salut of allowing drivers with a B license to drive ambulances weighing more than 3,500 kg

PalmThe UGT union has denounced the Balearic Islands Health Service (IB-Salut) for dismantling parts of 55 new ambulances to reduce their weight to less than 3,500 kilograms so they can be driven by technicians, many of whom only hold a Class B driver's license. Among the removed components are hydraulic ramps and essential seats necessary for transporting people with reduced mobility. Javier Marín, head of Healthcare Transport for UGT Balearic Islands, explains: "After analyzing the documentation of the modified and weight-reduced vehicles, which we can call 'van taxis,' we discovered a very serious issue. For three months, ambulances weighing over 3,500 kilos have been driven by technicians using both a car and a driver's license. The Health Service claimed that the modified vehicles weighed less than 3,500 kilos and could accommodate up to six passengers. This poses a serious risk to workers, patients, and public safety." "It's like they're taxis taking people from one place to another because, ideally, they only allow people without any physical limitations to get in," adds Vicente Nadal, UGT delegate at GSAIB Ibiza and Formentera. UGT sources point out that most of the vehicles used for scheduled patient transport weighed over 3,500 kilos, requiring a Class C license, which most drivers don't have. To try to fix this problem, IB-Salut modified the ambulances, eliminating vital technical improvements. Thus, "they've become simple vans with four seats in the back and two in the front," the union denounces.

The scheduled transport fleet has shrunk from 135 vehicles last year, almost all with sleeper berths and a multi-purpose capacity of 7-8 seats, including wheelchairs, to just 130 vehicles currently, of which only 30 have sleeper berths, while the rest have a limited number of seats (four) and no sleeper berths. This is causing waits of up to 30 hours in Mallorca and 14 hours in Ibiza and Menorca for patient transfers from hospitals to their homes. According to the UGT union, this situation is creating a "perfect storm" that the Administration calls a "temporary surge in demand for care," when in reality it is a "massive miscalculation in the acquisition of the new fleet of ambulances."

Ambulances in the open

In Ibiza, many ambulances, both scheduled and emergency, are left outdoors, exposed to the sun, rain, and even flooding. Nadal explains: "In winter, the medication and IV fluids crystallize. And in summer, the cab reaches 45-50 degrees Celsius. The medication also deteriorates due to the humidity. If they were supposed to last six years, they'll only last two." The lack of adequate parking means that ambulances park "wherever they can," from areas adjacent to hospitals to spaces reserved for private cars, which makes loading medical equipment difficult. According to Nadal, Gesaib (the Ibiza ambulance service) passes the buck to the 061 emergency line, and no action is taken.

Internal vehicle modifications directly impact the quality of transport. Nadal explains that "the vehicles are configured with fixed seats, making it impossible to install wheelchairs properly. This creates complicated situations, such as when technicians go to pick up a patient and find them dizzy, weak, or in need of a stretcher, but they can't transfer them because the vehicle isn't adapted." In Ibiza, of the 15 scheduled transport vehicles, only three are type A (with seats and a bunk bed) and three are type C (with seats and a hydraulic ramp). The rest, classified as type B, only have seats because the ramps have been removed. This leads to cancellations of rehabilitation sessions and other non-urgent services, which particularly affects stroke patients or those with reduced mobility.

Former Health Minister and Socialist MP, Patrícia Gómez, explains how the current situation arose: "We left a tender process completed and awarded. When the new government came in, the termination of the contract was announced overnight. These facilities, intended for urgent services, have been awarded as rental contracts for 56 million euros, with a monthly cost of 800,000 euros."