The Orihuela Coasta health department is being forced to operate with just a single SAMU emergency medical service unit, sparking a fierce row over regional healthcare safety. The new ambulance transport contract formalised by the regional health department has failed to correct the location of a second SAMU unit assigned to the Orihuela health district. According to the UGT union, this unit remains outside its designated area, leaving the district operating with one fewer ambulance than it is entitled to under a service contract signed in 2022.
The contract originally stipulated two units for the area, with one based in the town itself and the other on the coast. However, due to its proximity, the coastal area falls under the jurisdiction of the Torrevieja health district. In practice, this logistical error means there is only one medicalised ambulance covering a vast protected population. This single vehicle is responsible for Orihuela, excluding the coast, alongside Albatera, Algorfa, Almoradí, Benejúzar, Benferri, Bigastro, Callosa de Segura, Catral, Cox, Daya Nueva, Daya Vieja, Dolores, Granja de Rocamora, Jacarilla, Rafal, Redován and San Isidro. In stark contrast, Torrevieja has three units, which includes the ambulance located in Cabo Roig.
The UGT union section at the Vega Baja University Hospital insisted that this abnormal situation, maintained by the regional health authority, is seriously harming urgent healthcare for citizens in the Orihuela Health Department. The union considers it especially worrying that residents of Vega Baja must endure response times conditioned by long distances when the solitary local unit is already occupied.
Furthermore, the only SAMU unit within the department must handle secondary transfers for patients with cardiac conditions requiring haemodynamic treatment to hospitals in Elche or Torrevieja, as Vega Baja Hospital lacks this service. UGT warns that these long-distance transfers significantly reduce the effective availability of resources to attend to life-threatening emergencies in the region.
The union has been raising the issue with the regional health ministry for more than three years, demanding a solution that guarantees adequate advanced life support coverage. Regretting that these demands have not resulted in a definitive solution, the union has demanded an immediate revision of the current plan to ensure residents receive emergency care under conditions of equality, safety and quality.
However, the regional health authority believes the Orihuela Health Department does not require additional resources. The ministry maintains that it conducts an ongoing assessment of healthcare needs, evaluating communication routes, scheduled services, population distribution, and emergency activity across the region. It notes that the area has around 380,000 inhabitants, led by Torrevieja with 98,533 residents and Orihuela with 84,560.
The authority argues that Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support units are not municipal or departmental services. Instead, coordination is managed exclusively by the Emergency Information and Coordination Center, which mobilises the closest resource based on severity and distance. Officials state that base locations are only relevant from a logistical point of view, such as staff shift changes and material supply. The current resources based across the wider region include SAMU units in Orihuela, Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja and Rojales, alongside multiple Basic Life Support units in Orihuela, Orihuela Costa, Callosa de Segura, Almoradí, Pilar de la Horadada and Torrevieja, and non-assisted transport units in Orihuela and Torrevieja.
The ministry also emphasises that emergency resources have improved under the current contract, noting that 13 units in the Vega Baja region now operate 24-hour shifts. Two SAMU units have seen their hours extended from 12 to 24 hours, alongside basic life support services in Pilar de la Horadada, Callosa de Segura and Guardamar. Additionally, the emergency fleet was increased with non-assisted transport ambulances based in Torrevieja in July 2025 and Orihuela in September 2025.
