The union collective has informed labor authorities of the "serious crisis" that, in their view, the service is undergoing. This situation has persisted for months, marked by "incidents, occupational hazards, and lack of response" from the Management Directorate and the Medical Directorate of the hospital.
The union's complaints date back to January 13, 2026, when the first initiative was registered. Subsequently, the complaints were expanded on January 21 and 30, and March 6, due to the ongoing problems. A new letter was submitted on March 20, after an alarm was triggered at the service's cutting table and an "intense odor of chemical substances, presumably formaldehyde," was detected.
“"Professionals have been exposed to chemical risks of special severity, such as the manual handling of samples with xylene after the automated equipment malfunctioned, without adequate protective equipment."
Furthermore, CSIT has pointed out the "lack of updated chemical risk assessments since 2023, the absence of environmental measurements, and insufficient preventive information." Regarding staffing, the union warns that the service has "only one anatomopathologist," a provision they consider "clearly insufficient to guarantee its operation."
For its part, sources from Hospital Universitario del Tajo have defended their actions, stating that the union's initiatives in January and March were evaluated by the Labor Inspectorate. The latter denied the requested activity halt, considering the hospital's implemented "chemical handling protocol valid."
Regarding the alarm at the cutting table, the center clarified that it was not related to the chemical odor but was activated "preventively" due to the need to change the carbon filters of the air extraction system. The hospital has insisted that the filters purify the air expelled to the outside and that the xylene handling protocol complies with "current regulations," supervised by the PRL service and with "adequate protective equipment."
