San Miguel de Abona Launches Mobile Disability Assessment Service

As of yesterday, San Miguel de Abona has a new mobile service for disability assessments. Launched by the Department of Social Welfare, this service aims to make it easier to get disability certificates and save people trips to the capital city.

The service will cover five areas: San Miguel de Abona, Arico, Arona, Granadilla de Abona, and Vilaflor de Chasna. Its goal is to clear a backlog of nearly 4,000 applications currently waiting for assessment. The team includes two social workers, a psychologist, a physiotherapist, and administrative staff.

The department's main aim is to make these assessments more accessible, especially for people with limited mobility or those in difficult circumstances. Until now, they had to travel all the way to Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to complete the process.

Attending the launch were Candelaria Delgado, the Canary Islands Government's Minister for Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Childhood and Families; Dulce Gutiérrez, the Director General for Disability; and Arturo González, the mayor of San Miguel de Abona.

Candelaria Delgado explained that the Directorate General for Disability supported the creation of this team. She noted it "addresses the need to reduce a waiting list that had over 42,000 people at the start of the current government's term" and is "part of a wider plan to offer these services more locally across all the islands."

All files are managed digitally, meaning staff can access information directly without needing to move paper documents. Using technology has also helped to better record and prioritize applications, particularly those for children.

Mayor Arturo González emphasized the service's importance, stating that a disability certificate "is a key document for getting rights, benefits, and social support." He added that the main goal is "to make people's lives easier and reduce administrative hurdles."

Dulce Gutiérrez, the Director General for Disability, added that this new service "promotes speed and flexibility so that vulnerable citizens don't have to travel to the main cities to get their disability assessment processed."

This initiative is part of the 'Itinera' project, funded by European money. It joins other teams already working in different towns and islands across the Canary Islands, as part of the government's plan to offer disability assessments beyond the main cities. If needed, the San Miguel assessment team can also travel to other municipalities.