Else Beekman
Tourist season is pushing Alicante’s coastal hospitals to breaking point. Emergency departments in Dénia, La Vila Joiosa, and Torrevieja face hours-long waits, staff shortages, and daily patient transfers as summer visitor numbers surge.
Healthcare unions had already warned that when the Valencian Department of Health unveiled its summer staffing plan that many coastal towns would not receive extra reinforcements, despite populations doubling or tripling in July and August.
Yolanda Ferrández, general secretary of the Health and Social Care Federation of CC OO PV, said:
“Some hospitals are closing beds to free staff for other areas, due to reduced activity in outpatient and surgical departments.”
Currently, replacements cover only two in ten doctors and four in ten nurses during summer leave. Unions consider that level falls far short of what is needed, especially in tourist areas where the population can multiply by ten.
Ministry response: “A national problem”
The regional health department says the shortage of professionals is a structural problem across Spain, not unique to the Valencian Community. Health Minister Marciano Gómez has repeatedly urged the national ministry to relax rules on creating teaching units so regions can train more specialists, especially in primary care.
Officials also point to an increase in this year’s summer budget – €3 million more than in 2024, and over €10 million more than in the last plan under the previous regional government in 2023. The Generalitat says hospitals in Dénia, Torrevieja, Marina Baixa, and Alcoy have kept all inpatient units open this summer.
Across the region, acute care hospitals have over 40% more beds than last summer. On average, hospitals closed 506 beds last summer versus 331 this year.
Eight-hour waits and patient transfers
On the ground, the picture is stark. At La Vila Joiosa Hospital, the closure of one ward has reduced space and beds, forcing staff to transfer 10–11 patients daily to other centres. Emergency waits reach seven or eight hours, and GP appointments take about a week.
In the Marina Alta health district, which includes Dénia, summer consultorios have opened, but pressure remains high. “We see a packed urgencias, just like every summer,” said one staff member.
Torrevieja Hospital has avoided emergency overcrowding thanks to a new urgent care point that opened on 4 August, easing pressure on La Loma health centre. However, summer waiting lists persist.
At Sant Joan Hospital, emergency visits have spiked, and GP appointments face a nine-day delay. The Medical Union warns of “dangerous overwork” from the lack of summer cover, with some specialists doing up to nine 24-hour on-call shifts in addition to regular hours. ICU and neonatal beds have also closed in some cases.
Mixed picture along the coast and inland
In Santa Pola, the summer surge is “better managed than in previous years” thanks to the reopening of auxiliary beach clinics at Casa del Mar and Playa Lisa. The General Hospital of Elche, which serves Santa Pola, remains busy but avoids saturation.
Inland, Elda’s Virgen de la Salud Hospital closed its Trauma ward for painting, prompting complaints from staff in several departments amid sustained demand. Sanidad says bed closures here are down 12% compared with last summer.
Meanwhile, Alicante’s largest hospital, Doctor Balmis, operates well below capacity, with 69 summer bed closures compared to 88 last year. GP appointment delays average one week.
The Satse nursing union also criticises the withdrawal of previously approved leave in some departments due to staffing shortages, particularly in Elche and Dénia.