Currently, Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona only provides specialized thrombectomy services on weekdays from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Patients suffering a stroke at night or during weekends are forced to be transferred to Barcelona, a delay that often results in preventable permanent disabilities.
“"One out of every two patients who have to go to Barcelona cannot undergo a thrombectomy upon arrival because the brain is no longer in good condition."
Protesters are calling for the resignation of the Health Minister, Olga Pané, following her remarks suggesting the service was not essential for the region's volume of cases. Activists argue that 63% of the time, local residents lack access to this life-saving procedure in their own province.
