Luis González, the medical director of the Nuestra Señora de los Reyes Island Hospital in El Hierro, has called for additional National Police and Guardia Civil officers to speed up the transfer of migrants once they have been treated in A&E, thereby easing the pressure on the service.
Speaking to the media, González pointed out that there is currently no «overcrowding», despite the surge in migration to the island, where more than 1,500 people have arrived in the last week.
However, he has warned that they are «a little overwhelmed», and has compared the five migrants treated in A&E in October 2025 with the 86 so far this month, although the pressure on the healthcare system has eased compared with previous days.
El Hierro: More migrants are being admitted to residential accommodation
As regards hospital admissions, he stated that so far this October there have been 21 admissions of migrants, compared with two in the same month of 2025, and that around ten remain in hospital at present.
This increase coincides with the flu and cold season and with the healthcare needs of an island with an ageing population, explained González, who gave assurances that this situation does not mean that residents will be left without care.
The medical director has pointed out that they are using the corridors of the A&E department, although they have not yet had to convert the assembly hall into a healthcare facility, as was the case during other periods of greater migratory pressure.
A shortage of police officers is delaying transfers from A&E
González has identified as one of the main difficulties the long waits faced by patients who have already received medical care but who remain in A&E for hours until police officers can take charge of their transfers.
As he explained, the National Police and Guardia Civil are short-staffed and must also attend to arrivals at the port of La Restinga, which makes it difficult for them to go to the hospital once the migrants‘ care has ended.
«We demand, we call on the national government to provide the necessary resources,» said the medical director, who pointed out that staff «can’t take any more» and need reinforcements.
He stated that the Canary Islands Health Service had provided them with all the support they had needed.
CATE on El Hierro offers no protection to care staff
The Director of Nursing, Jorge Silva, has criticised the working conditions of healthcare staff at the Temporary Care Centre for Foreign Nationals (CATE), where they have a nursing unit that they have gradually set up within a police compound whose infrastructure is beyond their control.
Silva explained that they have requested «a decent work area on numerous occasions» and warned that the poor condition of the facilities and adverse weather conditions are jeopardising the safety of the staff.
In this regard, he explained that during the recent heavy rain, healthcare workers have been working in wellington boots and «with water up to their ankles».
The head of nursing emphasised that providing care for migrants at the CATE helps prevent a 31-bed hospital from becoming overwhelmed, and stated that in recent days they have treated more than 1,000 people there.
He pointed out that the health service can make improvements in terms of staffing, medication and material resources, but cannot resolve infrastructure problems; they are therefore seeking alternatives if no solution is offered to the conditions in the nursing unit.
«We have to treat these patients; we want to treat these patients, but we have a responsibility to protect our staff,» emphasised Silva.
The Director of Nursing has emphasised that staff are not refusing to provide care, but are calling for conditions that will enable them to do so safely: «We want to go to work, but we simply cannot work like this, it’s impossible.»
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