The territorial delegate for Health and Consumer Affairs, Juan de la Cruz Belmonte, has visited one of the gynaecology consultations adapted for women with disabilities in the Hospital La Inmaculada of the North Health Management Area of Almeria. Together with the management team of the Area, as well as the president of FAAM, the Almeria Federation of Associations of People with Disabilities, Valentín Sola, the president of LUNA, María Jesús Pérez and the mayor of Huercal-Overa, Domingo Fernández, Belmonte highlighted «the accessibility of our health system for people with disabilities, In this case for women with great mobility difficulties, who have, both in this centre that we visited and in the Torrecárdenas University Hospital and in the Poniente University Hospital, adapted consulting rooms in the speciality of gynaecology».
The Health Delegate explained that La Inmaculada has three rooms with resources for the care of women with serious mobility problems, with specially trained staff and adapted clinical furniture. In this way, all the hospitals in the province have a reference consultation room to facilitate access to specific health care for this group. These medical consultations are equipped with a specially designed examination couch to facilitate examinations for women with limited mobility. The physical spaces are also larger than usual, so that patients in wheelchairs do not encounter architectural barriers that impede access.
Another special feature of this new specialised gynaecology clinic is the support staff. Whenever necessary, the women will be assisted by two orderlies and a crane to facilitate the movement of the patients. In addition, they have a specific timetable with schedules adjusted to both transport needs and the duration of the consultation, with more than 30 minutes per patient, so that the professionals can attend to each woman at a pace appropriate to her physical limitations. This initiative responds to the need for gynaecological and obstetric care for people with reduced mobility.
Valentín Sola has valued «the implementation of the adapted gynaecological consultation in the hospital of reference in the east of Almeria. This will bring this health service closer to women with disabilities who live in the most rural areas and who, due to their disability, find it difficult to travel to the capital. In FAAM we are aware of the case of women with a great physical disability who have never visited a gynaecologist because of the difficulty in travelling. Therefore, we value the fact that Almeria is one of the first Andalusian provinces to respond to a historical demand of associations of women with disabilities, by the installation of this service in the three hospitals».
The president of LUNA has pointed out that «we can say that what we have achieved in Almeria is a milestone with an adapted gynaecological consultation in the three hospitals. This is something that the movement of women with disabilities has been requesting since 2006, and which was already included in the first Andalusian Plan for Women with Disabilities and even in the second, which is currently being drawn up. In Andalusia it is the first province to have all its hospitals adapted, but I think it is the first province at national level». Pérez pointed out that in Parliament «women with disabilities from all the provinces of Spain have requested the adaptation of gynaecological examination couches and gynaecological consultations and adapted mammographs. We have been or continue to be excluded from the health world without taking our bodies into account. Almeria can feel proud thanks to the Delegation of Health that we have and the delegate, Juan de la Cruz Belmonte».
Domingo Fernández, has highlighted that with this new consultation «we avoid displacements to women with disabilities in our municipality and throughout the northern part of the province, facilitating this health care» and has congratulated the Ministry of Health for being pioneers in offering this care.
The Torrecárdenas University Hospital has 21 gynaecology consulting rooms adapted for people with disabilities (functional, mental, dependency…): oncology; lower genital tract; general gynaecology; 2 assisted reproduction; pelvic floor; specific gynaecology (endometriosis, radiofrequency, bad obstetric history, pre-surgical, post-surgical); sexual and reproductive health; hysteroscopies; breast; 2 first trimester pregnancy; 2 prenatal diagnosis; high risk; low risk; foetal wellbeing and maternal wellbeing.
All gynaecology consultations are adapted for people with disabilities (functional, mental, dependency…).
The Hospital Universitario Poniente also has an adapted gynaecology room equipped with a specially designed examination couch, as well as larger spaces than usual, with the aim of eliminating architectural barriers that impede access.