The Regional Ministry of Health is to push forward with the construction of a new care building covering more than 13,000 square metres at the Elche General University Hospital. This strategic project represents an investment of nearly 33 million euro, as detailed by the Generalitat in a statement.
The Minister of Health, Marciano Gomez, highlighted that this intervention will expand the care capacity of the centre and adapt its infrastructure to the future needs of the population. Furthermore, the new building will provide a solution for the surgical area, increasing the total number of operating theatres to 22 and boosting the surgical activity of the hospital. Gomez shared these plans during a visit to the hospital, where he held a working meeting with the management team and heads of service for the Elche health department.
The project involves constructing a new four-storey property with two basements. This will connect to the main hospital building to house new care areas, expand existing services and reorganise spaces across the hospital complex. To make the expansion possible, the Ministry will allocate three million euro for the project design and 30 million euro for executing the construction work and moving current facilities located inside the hospital plot. This will free up strategic space where the new care building will be erected, marking the first step in one of the most important growth plans for the hospital in the coming years.
Among the planned improvements, a comprehensive refurbishment and expansion of the current surgical block will receive an investment of more than eight million euro. This will modernise the care spaces and increase the number of operating theatres from eight to eleven, all equipped with advanced technology and better functional efficiency. Once the future building is complete, which will also feature a surgical care zone, the hospital will reach 22 operating theatres, including six day-surgery theatres and two emergency theatres. These new theatres will connect with the fully renovated current ones.
Additionally, the post-anaesthesia recovery unit will expand to 40 beds, and the surgical intensive care unit will be equipped with 20 beds. The new building will also centralise structural resources for both the central surgical block and the day-surgery unit whilst significantly increasing hospitalisation capacity by providing more available beds and new units for admitted patients.
In the field of mental health, the building will house new spaces for adult and child psychiatric care, including larger hospitalisation areas and day-hospital facilities.
Other improvements at the existing site include a comprehensive refurbishment of the Intensive Care Unit costing 3.6 million euro to modernise facilities, expand the intermediate care unit and update technology. The hospital pharmacy service will also undergo a 5.2 million euro overhaul to meet current technical standards for preparing complex medicines safely. Meanwhile, a 2.6 million euro project will modernise the delivery area with new integrated labour and delivery rooms, and a new hospitalisation unit for highly complex surgical patients will be created with an investment of 1.3 million euro.
During his visit, the minister thanked the health department professionals for their hard work and dedication, reiterating the commitment of the Generalitat to strengthening public healthcare.
