On Monday, 24th March, a 24-year-old lady passed away at her residence in Rincón de Bonanza’s Orihuela sector. According to her family, the National Police arrived earlier than the SAMU (National Emergency Medical Services), which took forty minutes to arrive.

Her uncle, Juan Ramón, says about the stressful and, most importantly, excruciating periods they went through while making a valiant attempt to escape the suffering and remember the terrible events that occurred only two days later. NAV was prescribed a pain reliever after visiting the emergency room of Vega Baja Hospital that morning for sciatica and everything going smoothly. The young lady had never experienced any health issues before. At approximately 1 p.m., his niece passed out and fell to the ground. She was talking and conscious. She informed him that her grandmother and partner were there. She lives next door, so it just took him a few seconds to get there.

After that, she experienced cardiac arrest. While the ambulance awaited its arrival, her uncle and partner both administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. “We both knew how; I learnt in the military, and he had worked in an ambulance,” Juan Ramón adds. He claims that they attempted to resuscitate her for almost thirty minutes before National Police officers showed up there and removed them due to their weariness. “Our whole bodies hurt,” he remembers saying.

As Juan Ramón watched his niece “was losing consciousness, she was fading little by little, her pulse was losing its hold until she was left with her eyes open and glassy, in the void, with her face white and her lips purple,” he laments that the health services had asked her on the phone up to three times if she had her health card on hand.

He maintains that the ambulance “should have taken 10 minutes at most,” given that it is located on the road that links Vega Baja Hospital and the urban area. But for some reason, it took more than forty.

He states in a weak voice that this is the reason she wants to make the world aware of “what’s happening, not just for my niece, for whom nothing can be done,” but “because until it affects you, you’re not aware, but it can happen to anyone.”

She called 112 at 1:07 p.m., according to her story and the call record on her mobile phone, and gave them all the information they asked for—with the exception of her health card, which she was missing at the moment.

Three minutes after that, his niece passes out. When he gets a call at 1:12 p.m. asking for the SIP once more, Juan Ramón responds that his niece has gone into cardiac arrest and reiterates that he doesn’t have that information. He also insists that they are performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her and asks that they move quickly because she is in cardiac arrest.

He gets another call at 1:20 p.m. confirming that they are unable to locate his niece’s details. Once more, Juan Ramón introduces them to his niece. It seems that their last name was incorrect. They affirm that they have located her a few seconds later. She is in cardiac arrest, Juan Ramón confirms. They take him to a doctor, who enquires about his niece’s health. The doctor is surprised that they are able to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when he responds that they are.

A number of National Police patrols came about 1:25 p.m. Because they had been warned that the victim was conscious, the officers did not have a defibrillator, therefore they relieved Juan Ramón and NAV’s partner to continue CPR. Because they were within a short distance from the police station when they received the warning, one of the policemen objected.

An ambulance came at approximately 1:45 p.m. and took over for at least another 45 minutes, utilising all available resources, after another 15 minutes of taking turns giving CPR. However, the death was confirmed around 2:00 p.m. without any success.

The first contact, which was received at 1:03 p.m., described a woman who had fallen, was experiencing dizziness and breathing difficulties, according to the Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (CICU). At 1:05 p.m., an ambulance from the Basic Life Service was sent out.

The call was categorised as priority 1 at 1:09 p.m. when the caller dialled 112 once more, stating that they were performing basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation. While they were familiar with the approach, the CICU offered to help guide the resuscitation manoeuvres while they mobilised a SAMU unit.

According to CICU sources, the Medical Service for the Uninfected Mumps (SAMU) was already providing assistance at 1:24 p.m. Advanced cardiac resuscitation and other recovery measures were administered by the medical team, but no reaction was observed.

One ambulance

The notice was also given to the local health centre’s doctor. At the same moment as the SAMU (National Health Service), he and a nurse came in their vehicle. “The Orihuela Health Department is fully booked every day because there is only one SAMU (National Health Service), one less than the number of staff it has been assigned for the past three years,” says the medical expert, who has spent 23 years working in the local health centres.

In 2022, the Valencian Community’s urgent and non-urgent land medical transport service specifications established four medicalised units in the region, two in each of the two health areas (Orihuela and Torrevieja). However, the specifications failed to consider that the one on the Orihuela coast, which is located in Torrevieja due to its proximity, actually has three.

This “error” means that in reality, a department with a protected population of 180,000 people—including Orihuela (without the Coast), 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—has only one medicalised ambulance.

In July of last year, the Vega Baja Hospital’s UGT union branch notified management of the situation and asked that “this service, which we so desperately need, be restored as soon as possible.” As of yet, there has been no settlement.

Following the closing of an infamous drug den that drug users used to smoke in, Santa Pola residents may finally relax. After raising social concern in the neighbourhood, the Guardia Civil eradicated this heroin, hashish, and anti-anxiety drug trafficking hotspot.

Agents from the Santa Pola Main Post’s Investigation Area started surveillance in the middle of January after spotting multiple drug addicts, both from the local community and neighbouring municipalities, regularly visiting a residence.

Inside, substances like heroin, hashish, and anxiety-reducing medications were peddled. It was also discovered that users used the building as a smoking location.

Residents who witnessed an extraordinary influx of physically disabled people doing drugs close to their homes and in parks with children were impacted by the insecurity.

Investigations revealed that the main suspect was a Brazilian male, age 66. After buying drugs in an Elche neighbourhood, he trafficked them from his Santa Pola rental house.

A thorough photographic record of the drug transactions and many drug possession complaints against purchasers was submitted during the investigation, supporting the need to search the suspect’s residence.

One kilogramme of hashish, 350 anti-anxiety pills, a short air gun that looked a lot like a real gun, several homemade heroin pipes, cutting materials for heroin dosages, a precision scale and other tools used to handle the drugs, spoons infused with this substance, and 200 euros in cash were found inside the house.

The offender was arrested for a crime against public health connected to drug trafficking after the property was broken into and searched on March 7th, 2025.

“The town of Santa Pola’s citizens may now live in peace after the Guardia Civil’s operation successfully destroyed a drug distribution hub that was endangering safety and harmony. The military said, “The investigation is still ongoing, and additional action is not ruled out.”

The detainee and the confiscated items were turned over to the Elche Judicial District’s Investigative Court No. 2, which granted him bail.

The World Health Organisation estimates that animals are the source of 60% of infectious diseases that impact humans. Veterinarians have taken to the streets in concern that this number may rise as a result of the new state legislation that restrict their ability to prescribe antibiotics. In addition to shutting down the majority of the 331 veterinary clinics in the province for two hours, while some remained on call, the group organised its first protest against the new drug laws in Alicante.

They used this time to demonstrate outside the Government Subdelegation and make their concerns heard. A manifesto was read, urging Luis Planas, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, to change his stance. Veterinarians and pet owners were among the more than 300 attendees.

The prevalence of leishmaniasis in Alicante is three times higher than the national average, which worries veterinarians in particular. They worry that if they don’t handle the animals properly, this zoonosis will become out of control. This human-transmittable illness is typified by sporadic fever episodes, weight loss, concurrent splenic and liver enlargement, and anaemia. In almost 90% of cases, it can be fatal if treatment is not received.

There is one dog for every four people living in Alicante

The province has a substantial pet population, with one dog for every four residents, which contributes significantly to the spread of zoonosis, according to Gonzalo Moreno del Val, head of the Alicante College of Veterinarians. Furthermore, because mosquitoes are the vector of transmission, anyone can contract leishmania, the protozoan that causes this ailment, whether or not they own a pet.

Professionals, however, are upset that the new state law on veterinary medications, which went into effect in January, restricts their prescription in these situations to allopurinol, the medication that is generally agreed to be the most suitable for treating this illness in dogs. Up until the new rule, they used the human active ingredient because there isn’t a veterinary medication in Spain that contains it.

A major issue

This possibility was eliminated by state regulations that went into force at the start of the year. “This animal disease could spread and impact more people since we are unable to adequately treat it. In addition to being a major issue for us professionals and placing us in an awkward position, it has an impact on society as a whole. Moreno del Val adds, “Spain’s uniqueness is also quite extravagant, as this treatment is used in other countries.” Production farms as well as small animal veterinarians are impacted by this ban.

“When it comes to something as crucial as prescription, we cannot treat animals based solely on our clinical judgement or scientific data. First and first, the health and well-being of animals will be impacted, followed by people, if one of our primary duties as healthcare professionals—prescription, just like for doctors—cannot be utilised to cure illnesses. Since many of these illnesses are contagious, they affect public health and are a concern for the entire community.

“My clinical judgement is not criminalised”

Thus, among the slogans that veterinarians in the Plaza de la Montañeta have displayed on their banners are “The health of animals is the health of people,” “For one health,” “We are health professionals, only our clinical judgement is valid,” “Royal Decree 666/2023 prevents us from adequately treating millions of animals,” “I am a veterinarian, my professionalism is not questioned, my clinical judgement is not criminalised,” and “Yes to public health, animals are not to be touched.”

Although they believe that the interpretation made in Spain is far more restrictive than in other European countries, the group’s dissatisfaction, which is widespread throughout the nation, stems from a rule that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food initially wants to control a public health issue that veterinarians also share, such as antibiotic resistance.

These experts also confirm that pets barely account for 0.19% of the total amount of antibiotics ingested by people and animals in our nation. “Is this percentage really that bad that it puts the veterinary industry under so much strain? The group notes, “It’s odd that we have this control system for animals, but it doesn’t exist for humans; it doesn’t make sense.” According to the vets, the Ministry of Agriculture staff who created the norm lack clinical judgement “and don’t listen to us either.”

A platform for sharing all recipes

This new rule also mandates that veterinarians use an internal electronic platform called PresVet to report every prescription to the Ministry. Additionally, they are no longer permitted to prescribe drugs; instead, owners of dogs and cats must buy them from pharmacies, which frequently run out of stock because of drug shortages. Veterinarians must conduct cultures to determine the best drug, which may be life-threatening for the animal, delaying treatment.

Jordi Fontaner, an Elche veterinarian, observes a system of operation that raises the expense of therapy. “The drugstore would sell you the entire box of a medication, but we used to hand out ten tablets. The law states as much. Both the treatment and the product get more costly. To switch from one antibiotic to another, they require us to run antibiograms (cultures), which raises the expense because each one costs about 50 or 60 euros.

“It’s not an economic issue”

“It’s no longer a financial issue,” the expert adds, adding that the procedure takes longer. Our goal is to be able to care people the way we want to, not to generate money. Because an antibiogram can take up to seven days to produce benefits, treatments shouldn’t be prolonged. Immediate prescriptions are forbidden by the decree.

“We are losing our professional judgement. They forbid us from working or prescribing. We truly know what to employ in each situation, but the law restricts us, particularly when it comes to antibiotics.” Pet owners must now visit pharmacies to obtain their prescription drugs. “They don’t have that medication; they can’t acquire the pills, so they have to go to three, four, or five. In the end, we issue four or five prescriptions for each treatment since they must keep returning, whereas previously we handled it ourselves.”

Fontaner gives the example of an 80-year-old customer who visited multiple pharmacies in search of medication for her pet. “The woman actually informed me that my cat should die at the end. Since they won’t let us work, we’ll ultimately have to get around the law that is being imposed on us.”

With the new rules, “we invest a lot more time in looking for which antibiotics we can get, because we are limited by the law,” according to Tania García, a veterinarian from l’Alfàs del Pi. Perhaps writing a prescription takes twice as long as the 20-minute consultation that was originally scheduled. After that, it must be uploaded to the PresVet system. Or it takes nine days to receive it and the pharmacy doesn’t have it. Customers accuse us, therefore we have to explain, which ultimately takes a lot of time.

Reducing the 21% VAT rate on veterinary consultations as a medical profession is another demand.