Vandalism at Tenerife Medical Transport Facility Disrupts Patient Care
Vandalism at a Tasisa medical transport facility in Tenerife has disrupted non-urgent patient services for two days, prompting an investigation amid ongoing labor disputes between staff and the Canary Islands health authorities.
Medical transport services in northern Tenerife have been severely disrupted over the last 48 hours following acts of vandalism at the Tasisa facility in El Mocán, Los Realejos. Someone sabotaged the base by injecting silicone into the locks, preventing access to at least 16 non-urgent medical transport ambulances and delaying care for vulnerable patients.
On Monday, the sabotage caused a three-and-a-half-hour delay. Isabel Arteaga, president of the Works Council and representative of the CCOO union, explained that the fleet, which usually begins hospital transfers between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m., was unable to leave until 9:30 a.m. This left many patients waiting for scheduled medical treatments. Authorities are currently reviewing security camera footage from the site.
This incident comes amid long-standing labor tensions. Tasisa staff, who handle both urgent and non-urgent transport for the Canary Islands Emergency Service, have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement for two years. Beyond salary concerns, workers are calling for a logistical overhaul, including moving operational bases to better-connected locations to improve response times and efficiency.
The union has criticized the Canary Islands Ministry of Health, arguing that the government is prioritizing budget cuts over the quality of care. They claim that a lack of resources and poor planning have left the system fragile, leaving patients vulnerable when incidents like this occur. Investigators are now working to determine if this was an isolated act or a deliberate attempt to disrupt the company’s operations.