The failed attempt to build a mother-child hospital in the city of León in the 1970s

Abstract

This research focuses on the study of the failed expansion attempt, in the mid-seventies of the 20th century, of the Virgen Blanca Health Hospital, in the city of León, attached to Social Security. The center had come into operation in 1968 with a provision of 280 beds, which, over the course of seven years, proved insufficient to meet the growing demand of the insured, due to the concurrence of various factors, which are the ones that we are going to analyze. In an attempt to resolve the situation, the National Social Security Institute presented, between September 1975 and July 1976, two expansion projects for the health center, the second of which included the construction of a maternal and child hospital. None of them were carried out. For the study of such projects and the pitfalls that resulted from their failure, we will base ourselves on the files that are kept in the Municipal Archive of León.

Keywords: León, XX century, maternity, failure.