The succession of medical leaves in the psychosocial team at the Getxo court has created a complex situation. In just one year, three different professionals have held the psychologist position, all of whom were replaced after taking sick leave. The last of these professionals ceased her duties this week after another medical leave, a circumstance that has reached the courts and about which the Department of Justice of the Basque Government has sought to provide explanations.
According to departmental sources, from the outset, actions have been taken “with the utmost diligence” to prevent the court from being unattended. Thus, each absence has been covered through a new substitution process, and the replacement for the latest professional is already underway after the request was transferred to Public Employment. In this regard, they hope that the processing will be resolved “as soon as possible”.
“"Actions have been taken with the utmost diligence to prevent the court from being unattended."
Despite the difficulties arising from the lack of stability in the position, they assure that procedures requiring pre-constituted tests for minors have not suffered delays. Furthermore, the court has been informed of the willingness to seek formulas to respond to any urgent situation that may affect minors.
In its response, Justice also denies having knowledge of the “repeated requests and communications” that the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association claims to have sent in recent weeks to alert about the situation. The Department of Justice of the Basque Government added that it is also working on the structural reinforcement of the psychosocial team. Specifically, it plans the creation of four new psychologist positions, two of which will be allocated to Bizkaia.
