The Platform for Quality Public Healthcare of the Torrevieja Health Department held a demonstration in front of the outpatient clinic entrance of the Torrevieja Hospital to protest the delays in the waiting lists.
The platform is requesting public healthcare investment that is proportional to the population registered in the department. The following statement has been released by the organisation.
Ministry of Health data regarding delays
The average structural delay for first specialist appointments in the Valencian Community is 95 calendar days, according to the Ministry of Health’s report for the second half of 2025, which is based on data provided by the Autonomous Communities. This is the sixth-best average. This figure is inconsistent with our personal experiences in Torrevieja and the accounts of family and acquaintances in our vicinity.
These initial specialist consultations are essential because they serve as the entryway to specialised care and are the site of clinical decisions that will determine the treatment path and diagnostic and therapeutic resources required for each patient. And they are the primary impediment in the healthcare system.
What is concealed by global information?
Since 2015, the Valencian Community’s Annual Health Report has altered the conventional parameters for the management and provision of health information, as has the Ministry of Health. The data presented is limited to the overall situation; the specific situation of each department is not reported, such as the type of specialist appointments or the length of stay in hospital emergency departments. This has obvious consequences.
One of the primary repercussions is that it obscures the existing disparities between various health departments and, by neglecting to address the precise causes and solutions to the precarious situation, obstructs any meaningful investigation. Some departments, such as those in the Valencia metropolitan area, are exceedingly well-funded, while others in the periphery, such as Torrevieja, are significantly less fortunate. Additionally, this final department was recently returned to public administration and was previously integrated with the Vinalopó health district.
Torrevieja, outsourcing, and supply-demand imbalance
The socially recognised disparity between supply and demand in Torrevieja, which leads to structural waiting lists, is the result of the district’s consistent population growth, which has not been matched by a corresponding increase in public services, such as healthcare.. This platform has consistently criticised the underdevelopment of the public healthcare system. The demand is increasing, while the supply is decreasing. As a result, the quality of service suffers, as evidenced by the waiting lists, which unfailingly disproportionately impact the most vulnerable.
The construction of essential infrastructure in primary care (recall the planned but unresolved expansions and/or construction projects) and the construction of the second hospital in the department is being slowed down or ignored by the Valencian government. In addition, the Ministry of Health made an announcement last week regarding the prospective expansion of 12,310 hospital beds across 12 hospitals in the Valencian Community to accommodate population growth. Torrevieja will not receive a single berth from that total. Although we have one fewer bed per thousand inhabitants than the rest of the Valencian Community, the Ministry of Health is not contemplating increasing the number of beds in Health Department 22.
In the interim, municipal governments of the same political affiliation are, as is widely recognised, in negotiations with private corporations to establish new private healthcare facilities. Private enterprises are incentivised by waiting lists, both directly and through the outsourcing of public healthcare; profit is guaranteed. Nevertheless, this is a detrimental agreement for the health of patients, particularly those who are most disadvantaged.
A steadfast dedication to public healthcare
This platform advocates for policies that firmly endorse public healthcare. These policies include the publication of waiting lists for specialist care and diagnostic tests by department, a balance between healthcare demand and public healthcare supply through increased investment in healthcare infrastructure, and the establishment of a framework of guarantees, similar to those in other communities, that establishes reasonable waiting times for access to healthcare services, ensuring equity among users of the Torrevieja department and all Valencians.
Structural delays are defined as those that are caused by the organisation of the health system and the availability of resources.
For instance, in Castilla-La Mancha, the maximum waiting time for the initial diagnostic test (CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, mammography, endoscopy, haemodynamics, echocardiography, and ergometry), therapeutic procedures, the initial consultation with a specialist, and a non-urgent surgical operation is 30, 60, and 180 calendar days, respectively. The maximum waiting periods in Murcia are 30, 50, and 150 days, respectively.
The utmost guaranteed access period for oncological surgical procedures, valvular and coronary artery disease, and retinal detachment in Castilla-La Mancha (CLM) will be 30 days. The guaranteed period for both the initial consultation and diagnostic testing is reduced to seven days in the case of malignant tumours and retinal detachments. Alternative care may be requested by the patient if these deadlines are not met.
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