Until September 30, there was a temporary child psychologist in the region. At the end of the contract, a new temporary contract for the replacement of the service to a child psychiatrist was concluded and has served only for eight days per month. Reason: lack of professionals according to the Directorate of the Mental Health Network of Gipuzkoa. “The lack of professionals is associated with the existence of professionals, but not with decent working conditions. There is a lot of temporality (more than 50%), systematic work overload, lack of substitution and permanent loss of purchasing power,” ELA said.

Well, on 31 January the temporary contract for this child psychiatrist has also been completed, and the children of the region are currently out of service. “The basic social services, educational centers and pediatricians of the Health Center are very concerned about the situation, because they worsen and hinder their daily work and the mental health of the children of the region,” the union said.

Increasing private insurance

ELA has recalled that in this type of situation citizenship is increasingly becoming private health: “In Gipuzkoa, the hiring of private health insurance has increased by 8% since the pandemic and in 2021 more medical insurance is signed than anywhere else.”