San Miguel and Los Montesinos: Only one doctor for every 2,000 patients

The Platform for 100% Public and Quality Healthcare held a demonstration in front of the San Miguel de Salinas health centre on Wednesday, May 21st, closing off the main road, Calle 19 de Abril, in the town centre for an hour and demanding that the Generalitat keep its promise to expand the health centre. They complained about long wait times for Primary and Specialised Care appointments due to a lack of staff, which means each doctor must take on a quota of 2,000 patients, as well as issues getting to and around Torrevieja University Hospital.

The wait times for primary care in this basic health region, which also includes Los Montesinos and Entre Naranjos, are among the highest in the department. According to the platform’s opinion, “Access to the public health system at its first step within a reasonable time, estimated at a maximum of 48 hours from the appointment request, is a dead letter.”

One of the primary causes of appointment delays is insufficient and overburdened medical staff. For example, the Valencian Community has a doctor-patient ratio of 1,300 patients per doctor and 1,400 in the department. The medical personnel in our Basic Health Zone (BHZ) are absolutely disgraceful.

With a census population of 15,507, the population served is significantly larger, with eight primary care providers. The ratio in the Basic Zone is 1,938 patients per physician. This ratio exceeds 600 times the number of patients per primary care practitioner.

Broken promise

In a press release dated February 16th, 2023, the manager of the Torrevieja Health Department, José Cano, promised in a meeting with the Councillor for Sports, Health and Youth, Óscar Patiño, to submit the feasibility study for the centre’s expansion, which consists of covering the rear of the building.

This measure’s objective was to “improve infrastructure that would allow some specialised healthcare clinics to be brought closer to the municipality, avoiding unnecessary travel for citizens .” More than two years have passed, and there is no timetable set for the completion of the aforementioned work.

The administrative slowness in providing services, such as healthcare, contrasts with the municipality’s rapid population expansion, which is fuelled by the high construction intensity. Construction of over 3,000 dwellings is currently underway, which will more than treble the municipality’s present population.

Public Transportation to Torrevieja Hospital

“More than the increase in kilometres of highways with its serious effects on the landscape,” the platform, whose spokespersons are Manuel Gómez and Eva Delafuente, asserts that in a region like ours, “we need a public transport network that facilitates access to basic services and needs such as shopping, leisure, education, and healthcare without having to rely solely and exclusively on private cars.”

There is an increasing need in the department’s municipalities for “as a priority, regular public transport to facilitate access to the services provided at the Torrevieja hospital.”

The Socialist mayors of San Miguel de Salinas, Juan de Dios Fresneda, and Los Montesinos, José Manuel Butrón, attended the protest on this day. Ana Belén Juárez, Montesinos’ Socialist councillor and regional deputy, was also in attendance. They sat in the front row, behind the pancanta. Their participation in comparable rallies, when the Platform’s efforts demanding improved healthcare were held during the Consell del Botànic administration, was minimal or nonexistent.