Bureaucratic Delays Stall Expansion Plans for Tenerife South Hospital

Healthcare management in southern Tenerife is facing further uncertainty. According to El Día, the tender process to design the expansion and renovation of the regional hospital has hit another bureaucratic snag, pushing back the project’s timeline. The Pro-Public Hospital of the South Platform has voiced its frustration, noting that the awarding process is now about a month behind schedule.

The delay stems from the contracting board, which found discrepancies while reviewing the submitted proposals. To ensure transparency, the administration has requested additional documentation from the bidding companies. This has postponed the final decision until next week.

This contract, worth over one million euros, is a vital first step for the planned construction. The Canary Health Service’s functional plan aims to finish two currently unused modules and renovate a third. The goal is to provide the hospital with essential services, including a new emergency department, intensive care units, hemodynamics, expanded surgical facilities, and new laboratories.

This infrastructure is critical for the region, as the hospital serves more than 300,000 residents—a number that swells significantly due to tourism. Since opening in 2015 after decades of delays, the hospital has operated with a limited range of services, a gap this expansion is intended to fill.

In light of these setbacks, the Pro-Public Hospital of the South Platform is urging authorities to speed up the process. While the contract allows ten months to complete the design once awarded, the group argues that modern technology should allow the work to be finished in six to eight months. They hope this will ensure that current administrative delays do not jeopardize the project's overall timeline.