Therese Storm Disrupts Canary Islands Non-Emergency Healthcare Transport

The Canary Islands Health Service (SUC) has suspended non-urgent medical transport across the archipelago due to the approaching storm, Therese. The disruption began Thursday, March 19th, impacting services in La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and Tenerife, and will extend to all islands on Friday, March 20th, according to a statement released by the SUC.

The decision prioritizes critical care, maintaining transport for patients requiring life-sustaining treatments such as hemodialysis, chemotherapy, and oncohematological hospital day care, provided conditions allow for safe travel. Transfers between healthcare facilities and discharges from emergency rooms or hospital wards will also continue. However, scheduled rehabilitation sessions and routine outpatient appointments have been postponed.

On Gran Canaria, scheduled services were maintained until noon today, but were limited to vital transfers and hospital discharges after 1:00 PM. The broader suspension across all islands on Friday follows recommendations from the Canary Islands Directorate-General for Emergencies and Civil Protection, aiming to minimize risks to both patients and healthcare personnel during the adverse weather conditions, according to the SUC statement.

The SUC clarified that continued vital transport will be contingent on patient and staff safety, particularly in challenging locations where alternative routes are unavailable. A report from the 112 emergency service indicates that the storm has already caused approximately one hundred incidents across the islands, though the nature of these incidents remains largely unspecified.

The suspension of non-urgent transport is a precautionary measure designed to prevent travel that could endanger the population given the severity of the expected weather. The SUC has not yet announced when normal service will resume.