Four health-sector unions in Morocco have called for an urgent investigation and improvements to medical services in the southern city of Tan-Tan following the death of a pregnant woman who gave birth at Hassan II Provincial Hospital before dying hours later at a university hospital in Agadir. In a statement seen by Hespress, the unions […] The post Moroccan health unions demand action after pregnant woman dies following transfer from Tan-Tan appeared first on HESPRESS English - Morocco News .
Four health-sector unions in Morocco have called for an urgent investigation and improvements to medical services in the southern city of Tan-Tan following the death of a pregnant woman who gave birth at Hassan II Provincial Hospital before dying hours later at a university hospital in Agadir.
In a statement seen by Hespress, the unions expressed their “deep sadness and regret” over the death, saying the incident should not be treated as an isolated event given what they described as longstanding shortcomings in the local health system.
The unions said they had repeatedly called on authorities to provide an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist at Hassan II Provincial Hospital, describing the specialty as essential to the operation of emergency, maternity, surgery and intensive care services.
The absence of a specialist, they said, not only puts patients at risk but also places anesthesia and intensive care nurses under significant professional and psychological pressure. The nurses are required to deal with critical and complex cases without the presence of a specialist doctor, while lacking what the unions described as adequate legal and professional protection.
The unions said they had previously warned that the continued shortage could have serious consequences for both patients and health workers.
They also criticized the failure of a doctor identified by the initials B.N. to take up a position at the hospital, saying her absence deprived the facility of additional medical capacity that could have helped alleviate the shortage and left Tan-Tan without a position it had been expected to receive.
The unions questioned why the Health and Social Protection Ministry did not allocate any anesthesiology and intensive care positions to Tan-Tan when it announced vacancies and positions intended to address staffing shortages, despite what they described as the hospital’s urgent need for the specialty.
They held health authorities at the provincial, regional and central levels responsible for the continued shortcomings, saying access to health care should not be subject to administrative delays or calculations.
The unions said the hospital’s problems extend beyond staffing shortages, pointing to a lack of medical equipment, supplies and diagnostic tests, as well as outdated and deteriorating equipment, particularly in critical departments.
Such shortcomings, they said, make the work of medical staff more difficult and expose patients to additional risks.
“Citizens’ lives are not numbers in reports,” the unions said, arguing that access to health care and safe working conditions are fundamental rights.
They called for the permanent deployment of an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist at Hassan II Provincial Hospital and demanded that authorities explain why B.N. did not take up her assigned position.
The unions also called for accountability for any official found to have been negligent or responsible for the failure to fill the position.
They urged authorities to allocate enough medical posts to address the hospital’s actual staffing needs, particularly in anesthesiology and intensive care, and to provide essential medical equipment while replacing outdated and deteriorated devices in critical departments.
The unions further called on provincial, regional and central authorities to assume responsibility for ensuring access to health care for residents of Tan-Tan province.
They said their statement was not intended as political posturing or an attempt to exploit a human tragedy, but rather as a “new warning cry” in defense of patients’ right to life and medical care and health workers’ right to safe and legally protected working conditions.
The unions urged authorities to act immediately to prevent another tragedy, warning that patients’ lives cannot wait and that health workers should not be left to bear the consequences of failures in human resources management.
The post Moroccan health unions demand action after pregnant woman dies following transfer from Tan-Tan appeared first on HESPRESS English - Morocco News.
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