Torrevieja Hospital adds 10,147 new users in just one year

The 2025 management report of the Torrevieja Health Department emphasises the substantial increase in the population served and the concurrent increase in healthcare activity, which has resulted in a strain on services. The SIP (Population Information System) has registered 225,705 individuals in the territory that serves the population of Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Pilar de la Horadada, Guardamar del Segura, Rojales, San Fulgencio, San Miguel de Salinas, Los Montesinos, Benijófar, and Formentera del Segura. In a context further characterised by the larger proportion of individuals over 65 years of age in the entire Valencian Community and a foreign population that now accounts for 52% of the total, this represents a nearly 5% increase of 10,147 compared to 2024.

Postponement

Urology and dermatology are the specialities with the longest waiting periods, as demonstrated by the same data. The average wait time for an outpatient appointment was 59 days. The range was extensive, spanning from two days in Nephrology to 264 in Urology. Dermatology and Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology experienced the longest delays, with a total of 243 days and 192 days, respectively, following Urology. Gastroenterology, Ophthalmology, Allergy, Pain Management, and Rehabilitation were all followed by these at 174, 148, 100, and 70 days, respectively.

Surgical activity, which decreased by 15.5% from 2024 to 9,393 procedures, is one of the exercise’s shortcomings. The document connects this decline to the shortage of anaesthesiologists and the completion of the productivity programme two months prior to the year’s end. As of December 31, 2025, 1,732 patients were on the waiting list for Priority 3 cases, which are surgeries that are deemed less urgent, and the average waiting time increased from 56 to 70 days. The Health Department maintains that this is still 18 days below the average for the Valencian Community, which is 88 days. As per the document, there were no patients who were “outside the acceptable range” for either Priority 1 or Priority 2 cases.

Population that receives assistance

The department is not only expanding in size, but it also maintains a notably ageing population, as the report emphasises the change in the population receiving care. Torrevieja continues to have the highest proportion of individuals aged 65 and older in the entire region, with 63,462 individuals in this age category, which accounts for 28.11% of the total. In addition, there is a foreign population of 115,006 individuals.

Management has prepared a document that was made public this week, which suggests that patient care has generally improved. The number of consultations in Primary Care has surpassed 1.89 million for the first time, a 5.8% increase from the previous year. Mental Health services have handled 22,461 consultations, and hospital outpatient visits have increased to 252,033, a 7,212 increase from the previous year. Conversely, the average occupancy rate of the hospital’s 270 beds has exceeded 85%, while absences have also deteriorated, with 32,589 no-shows, a 11.45% increase.

The data on average waiting times in Primary Care is omitted in this report, which has caused controversy in recent years due to the fact that they significantly exceed the average for the province, the Valencian Community, and Spain. In the most saturated health centres, such as those of La Loma in Torrevieja, Guardamar, and Orihuela Costa, the first appointment can be delayed by up to fifteen days, whereas the ideal wait should not exceed two days.

The daily expenditure is 651,797.20 euros, with an annual budget of 237 million.
In terms of budget, the fiscal year concludes with €237.9 million (€651,797.20 per day), a 3.87% increase from 2024. The fastest-growing item is investment, which increases from €2.63 million to €4.13 million, a 56.82% increase, with a greater proportion allocated to hospital equipment. Current expenditure is contained and decreases by 3.57%, while personnel costs account for €129.4 million, 54.4% of the total, and increase by 8.12%. This is a substantial increase in absolute terms, but it is highly relative due to the extremely low level of investment that occurred in 2024.

Obstetric activity is on the rise, with 1,217 births, and hospital emergencies are on the increase, with 89,413 visits, which is 5,731 more than a year ago. The department as a whole has 442,700 emergencies recorded.

In the “Emergency Room door” chapter of the report, the data indicate that the healthcare burden is on the rise. The series in the report indicates a rise in urgent hospital activity in recent years, with 70,006 visits in 2022, 75,971 in 2023, 83,682 in 2024, and 89,413 in 2025.

Of the latter cases, 62,500 were associated with patients who were registered with the Torrevieja Health Department, while 26,913 were individuals who were not enrolled. There were 18,353 foreign nationals and 8,560 residents of other health departments within the Valencian Community or in other regions who were not registered. In other words, 28% of Emergency Department visits were initiated by individuals who were either temporarily residing in the department or on vacation.

Emergency Room

The peak hospital demand is observed in July and August in the Emergency Department, as indicated by the monthly distribution. The report indicates that the average wait time for initial assessment, or triage, was between 10 and 12 minutes throughout the year. The average duration of stay in the Emergency Department was 368.6 minutes, with a slightly higher percentage of patients necessitating observation than the standard 16%. The document does not specify the percentage of the total time spent waiting.

Directly

The document, albeit in a very general manner, delineates the development objectives established for the area under the management of Dr. José Gabriel Cano by 2026. The project of the 12,000-square-meter expansion of the hospital, which has been promoted by the mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, and the regional minister for the past few months, and has been demanded by the Platform for Public Healthcare since at least 2021, is not explicitly mentioned. At present, the Platform is devoid of formally ceded property, which must be acquired in exchange for urban development compensation for a private individual, as well as a report, preliminary design, approved project, and funding.

Enhancements

The document proposes a plan for 2026 that is focused on the following: strengthening the problem-solving capacity of Primary Care, reviewing schedules, and reducing absences from appointments; addressing hospital specialities with the longest waiting times, particularly Urology, Dermatology, and Traumatology; recovering surgical activity, recruiting anaesthesiologists, and reducing cancellations; adapting Emergency Departments to seasonal peaks and improving the pathways for displaced patients; reducing dependence on outsourced tests and shortening diagnostic times; and containing the average hospital stay and strengthening alternatives such as home hospitalisation and day hospitals, among other challenges.