Ceuta doctors warn of scabies and tuberculosis outbreaks as migration crisis overwhelms health system

Mass arrival overwhelms Ceuta's health system

A mass migration event on 30 and 31 July brought thousands of people into the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta, overwhelming local health services. The Popular Party (PP) estimates up to 12,000 people are wandering the streets, with PP vicesecretary of Health Carmen Fúnez stating that normality will not return until they are returned to Morocco. On the night of 30 to 31 July, emergency services attended more than 1,500 cases involving hypothermia, near-drownings, and trauma, with a staff of only seven doctors, 12 nurses, and 12 nursing assistants (TCAE). Fúnez noted that the migration event has pushed a system already suffering a staffing deficit to its limit.

Doctors warn of disease outbreaks

Enrique Roviralta, president of the Medical College and Medical Union of Ceuta, has reported that scabies and tuberculosis outbreaks are already appearing, and has warned of potential cases of cholera, measles, tetanus, and infectious diarrhea. He criticized the absence of protocols and instructions from the Ministry of Health, and demanded activation of the External Catastrophe Action Plan, which contemplates setting up three care points in the city to relieve pressure on emergency services.

Health Minister Mónica García has denied that the health system is collapsed and has denied complications from infectious disease transmission. Roviralta accused the Ministry of complete indifference toward the situation.

There is no protocol, no instructions. This is a ticking time bomb, it is a breeding ground from an epidemiological point of view.

García responded to the doctors' requests through a letter describing the crisis as fundamentally humanitarian.

Frontline accounts from the hospital

Dr. Guadalupe Sánchez, a physician at the University Hospital of Ceuta, described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe in an emotional television interview. She reported that between Thursday and Saturday, more than 4,000 emergencies were attended, compared to a normal range of 300 to 400 in similar conditions. Patients arrive in a state of shock, with thirst, fear, and cold, she said, adding that food is being rationed to two bread bars per person.

I don't know who said there is normality here, but it isn't so. Food is being rationed, two bread bars per person. The feeling is of abandonment, we are alone.

Political pressure mounts

Carmen Fúnez met with representatives of health unions SAE, UGT, CCOO, CSIF, and the Medical Union on 11 August, accompanied by Ceuta health counselor Nabila Benzina and other local PP officials. Fúnez demanded that the Ministry of Health, which directly manages Ceuta's health services through INGESA, activate a Strategic Emergency and Catastrophe Plan 11 days after the initial event. She also denounced the government's failure to comply with Royal Decree 118/2023, which classifies health positions in Ceuta as difficult to cover and requires measures to incentivize hiring. Fúnez noted a current deficit of 50 nurses, 20 primary care doctors, and additional hospital and TCAE staff, with 90 people currently waiting in emergency services attended by five doctors, 12 nurses, and 12 TCAE. She also criticized Minister García for not visiting Ceuta in three years as minister. PP president Alberto Núñez Feijóo visited the city in the early days after the migration event and may return in the coming weeks.