Taganana Couple Struggles with Unreliable Dialysis Transport

A couple in their sixties living in Taganana, Anaga, is struggling to get non-urgent medical transport in the rural Canary Islands. This service is vital for patients who depend on it and need ongoing care. Patrick, one half of the couple, needs dialysis three times a week after prostate cancer surgery. He constantly faces problems getting his treatment because the ambulance service is unreliable and often makes him wait a long time.

Patrick uses a wheelchair and needs transport from his home in Taganana to Quirón Hospital in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. His wife, Nora, says that ambulances often don't pick him up. They usually blame the long distance or say they need to help other patients. The problem has gotten worse lately because Nora injured her leg and can no longer drive. This means Patrick can't be taken by private car anymore, which was an option they used before.

Besides the missed pickups, the couple is also unhappy with how the return journeys are handled. The non-urgent medical transport vehicles, run by the Canarian Health Service, carry several patients at once. This means it can take up to four hours to get Patrick home after his dialysis. Nora explains that Patrick is often the first patient picked up and the last one dropped off. He gets home between 9 and 10 at night, after hours of treatment and without having had anything to eat, while the ambulance drives around Santa Cruz, even to far-off places like Añaza, to drop off other patients.

Because of these issues, the family has officially complained to the Canary Islands Government's Department of Health and asked Quirón Hospital for help. While the hospital has said it's willing to help, the couple says nothing has improved so far. They continue to ask for an earlier and more frequent pickup service so Patrick can get his vital treatment on time.