A privatized hospital that turns away patients opens a new war between Ayuso and the left

MadridThe privatization of Madrid's healthcare system is once again under scrutiny. And all eyes are on the Torrejón de Ardoz Hospital. It's at the center of the storm after... The Country Audio recordings have surfaced in which Pablo Gallart, CEO of Ribera Salut—the company that manages the hospital—is heard ordering the rejection of unprofitable patients or procedures to lengthen waiting lists, with the aim of performing fewer surgeries and, consequently, increasing profits. This occurred during a September 25th meeting with group and hospital management: "In Torrejón, in 2022 and 2023, we decided as an organization to make an effort to reduce the waiting list. All I ask is: let's reverse course," he said. He requested adjustments to achieve a profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of "four or five million." In that meeting, Pablo Gallart requested that procedures that were not profitable for the company be discontinued, arguing that if delays accumulated, they would spend less on surgeries because they would need fewer staff and resources. Furthermore, he argued that Torrejón Hospital is operating at a loss, asserting that it will never turn a profit until the concession expires, and lamenting that the government's contribution is insufficient to cover expenses. Company sources consulted by The Country They counter that, taken out of "context," the content of the audios can be "altered or misinterpreted and lose its meaning."

Hours after the news broke, even Pedro Sánchez has said his"The PP's model is to turn health into a business and illness into an opportunity to get rich." The Spanish president criticized the fact that a company CEO "decides on people's lives" and offered "all the instruments of the State" to defend public healthcare. Furthermore, The Patient Advocate He urged the State Attorney General's Office to "investigate it thoroughly." In an interview on Midday on RNEThe president of the association, Carmen Flores, has stated that "it is not an isolated case", but a "plot" in which they suspect alleged crimes of malfeasance and corruption because public money "is being diverted".

Legal battle

In response to these revelations, the reaction from the Madrid left was swift. Both the Madrid Socialist Party (PSOE) and Más Madrid have announced they are considering legal action against the Madrid regional government and are requesting that the Minister of Health, Fátima Matute, appear before the Madrid Assembly. Más Madrid also intends to demand explanations from Pablo Gallart in parliament. The Secretary General of the Madrid Socialists, Minister Óscar López, believes Ayuso's management of healthcare is an "absolute disgrace" and denounces the hospital for treating patients like "customers" and turning a "right for all" into a "business for a select few."

For her part, the leader of Más Madrid, Minister Mónica García, condemned the "public-private parasitism," accused Ayuso of putting money "above lives," and criticized the practices revealed today as "absolutely intolerable" and putting the region "on the ropes." The spokesperson in the Madrid Assembly, Manuela Bergerot, stressed that this "demonstrates once again that profit and health are completely incompatible" and presented Madrid's healthcare system as a "corrupt model designed for companies to make a fortune at the expense of the health and patience of Madrid residents." "These vultures must be removed from all public hospitals," she said.

"Magnificent and excellent" care

However, the Madrid regional government is passing the buck. In the press conference following the executive council meeting, spokesperson Miguel Ángel García countered that the Ministry of Health is "in contact" with the management team of the Torrejón de Ardoz Hospital to request "any necessary explanations." He also defended the "magnificent and excellent" care provided in all Madrid hospitals and downplayed the seriousness of the leaked audio recordings: "The liberalized system benefits citizens, who freely choose the type of care and the hospital where they wish to be treated."