You can't ignore it - as you turn off the roundabout and head up the hill to Vejer, there it is - the shell of the projected Hospital de La Janda, abandoned now for several years.
Vejer and the surrounding pueblos used to have their own hospitals. One of them, on Calle San Juan, was run by the Sisters of La Merced. When it closed at the beginning of the twentieth century, patients were transferred to their Convento near the Plaza de España.
By the end of the twentieth century, advances in medical science made it impractical to continue with small local hospitals. In 1999, plans were announced to build a new hospital, the High Resolution Hospital Centre (CHARA) to serve the people of Vejer, Conil, Barbate and Medina Sidonia.
Work began in 2007, and according to the Junta of Andalucía, which is responsible for hospitals and other facilities, was about 80% complete by 2010.
At this point, work stopped and the nearly-completed building was left to its own devices. Despite a barrage of complaints and petitions, the Junta has refused to respond to appeals to complete the project. The Ayuntimiento of Vejer has been outspoken in challenging the delay.As time goes by, vandals and the elements are damaging the building and it will now be expensive to complete.
The Junta claim that financial stringency has made progress impossible. Some in the Ayuntimiento suspect political motives: Vejer is currently led by the PP, while Andalucía generally is a PSOE stronghold.
At the end of February, the Mayor of Vejer decided that he could stand no more. He has issued a challenge to the Junta of Andalucía. His words are translated below.
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| José Ortiz, Mayor of Vejer - in no mood to mess around.. The Mayor of Vejer, José Ortiz, has made public his ‘indignation’ at the attitude of the Junta of Andalucía regarding the paralysed state of the hospital building project.
Ortiz
points out that work on the project stopped in 2010, ‘long before the change of
governments in Vejer and Andalucía and
so far, the Junta has based its strategy on shifting the blame for its own
failures onto others’.
Ortiz argues that the Ayuntimiento has ‘completed
the installation of water supplies to the hospital, despite which it was denied
an opportunity to meet the new Health Secretary. A petition was sent to the
Junta, which has dragged its feet in responding. In addition, a meeting of
local mayors of different political persuasions requested a meeting with the
Health Secretary, a request which was ignored by the Junta.
“To this collection of absurdities, we must add
that we have sent the Junta a signed agreement to supply electricity, which
they did not acknowledge. This agreement, which pledges a subsidy of 450.000 Euros,
was referred for the signature of the
Junta, being required to justify the purpose of the grant by the Council”, the Mayor stressed,
adding that the Junta’s strategy, apparently party political, represented a
betrayal in view of the action the Ayuntimiento had already taken in installing
a water supply. Since there was no reason not to believe that the work would also be efficiently carried out in respect
of the electricity supply, it seemed that the Junta was reluctant to proceed because
if the work were completed, the Junta would not be able to blame any other
public administration for the failure to complete the hospital.
Ortiz added that ‘as the leading representative
of Vejer, I can no longer tolerate them playing fast and loose with my town. The Junta currently has
the hospital project on the negotiating table with the
contractors, Pascual, for the renewal of
agreements. Given their silence and since they have made no progress in the
procedures which would allow work to go ahead, we have a
completely abandoned hospital, the object of acts of vandalism, while the
people of Vejer are obliged to travel kilometres for hospital care. I cannot
remain passive any longer; I am obliged to take action in protest. I have therefore
decided that if I receive no reply from the Junta by the end of March, I will
initiate action to fence off and close the hospital site.”
ANDALUCIAINFORMACIONWEB.COM
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http://www.diariodecadiz.es/article/provincia/1475013/la/janda/se/desespera/tras/antildeos/esperando/su/hospital.html
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