South Tenerife Group Declares 'Emergency' Over Hospital Expansion Delays

People in the South are clearly worried. Beyond traffic jams and a lack of affordable housing – with many forced to live in temporary homes, shacks, or motorhomes – there's a major healthcare problem. Everyone agrees there's an unacceptable delay in getting the hospital expansion project off the ground. Jordi Esplugas, spokesperson for the Platform for a Public Hospital in South Tenerife, told this newspaper yesterday that the group will mark 30 years next summer of campaigning for a fully equipped hospital. They say it's desperately needed for a population that has grown hugely in the South over the last three decades.

On December 30, the group released a strong statement. They announced plans to immediately contact local community and business leaders to declare that "Enough is enough, the South is in an emergency."

This action comes after repeated delays from the Canary Islands Government regarding the hospital's expansion. The Platform points out that the tender for the architectural design project still hasn't been put out for public bidding, despite a promise made two and a half years ago. The group also criticizes the small budget of just 800,000 euros allocated for the South Hospital in 2026. They believe this shows that "the expansion is not a priority for this Government."

Esplugas noted that since 2024, when the Ministry of Health promised to start the administrative process, there have been "continuous excuses" for missed deadlines. The tender for the project design wasn't issued by the end of 2024, nor by early 2025, nor even by the end of last year, as the Platform had been told. Ten days after their statement, Esplugas said "everything remains the same." He confirmed the Platform's plans to soon mobilize and contact as many community and business leaders as possible to inform them of the "serious" situation.

The Platform's statement highlights the "sadness, frustration, and neglect" felt by people in the South, asking, "Where are our rulers pushing us?" They point to the "strangulation" of current hospital facilities, meaning there isn't enough space to expand essential services like the surgical area, emergency room, oncology, delivery rooms, maternity and neonatology, hemodialysis, blood bank, kitchen, cafeteria, and parking.

The situation is made worse by an increase in "blocked" rooms, up to 60%. These are rooms occupied by patients who have been discharged but can't leave because there are no places for them in social care centers. "This is unsustainable," the Platform states, "and almost turns the South Hospital into a social care center. Many patients arriving through the emergency room have to be sent to private hospitals or La Candelaria."

The Platform criticizes the response of the Canary Islands Government President, Fernando Clavijo. "We specifically raised this issue in every one of our many meetings over the past two and a half years," they said, "but he just looks at the Minister of Health and asks her to speed things up, which has achieved nothing."

While the call for a public hospital in the South began in the 1980s, it wasn't until 1996 that a group of citizens formed an advocacy platform to bring attention to their demand. On July 18 of that year, a significant meeting took place at the Chío Cultural Center in Guía de Isora. Members of the founding committee – Jordi Esplugas, Bárbara Rodríguez, Emilio Lentini, and Segundo Marcos – met with various local associations. This meeting planted the seed for what would become the Platform, now the longest-running citizen advocacy group in the Canary Islands and one of the first of its kind in Spain.

The Platform's first action was collecting over 34,000 signatures in July 1998 to propose a popular initiative law in Parliament. Initially, the Coalición Canaria and Partido Popular parties were hesitant, but public pressure, formally presented in the Chamber, eventually paved the way for the proposal.

Soon after, nationalist and conservative politicians changed the demand for a full-service public hospital into a proposal for a social care center instead. This led to three years of public and private debate, which dampened the enthusiasm for the hospital from both the public and institutions in the South. However, when it looked like the project would be permanently stuck as just a social care center, people took to the streets. In September 2004, over 3,000 people, organized by the Platform, protested in the center of Playa de Las Américas. A large banner proclaiming "Public Hospital Now!" led the demonstration, which became a turning point for citizen activism.

After that, political talks restarted, and common sense won out: a proper hospital would be built in El Mojón (Arona). But getting there wouldn't be easy. The Platform for a Public Hospital in the South remembers that in March 2011, after the project stalled again, a meeting with the then President of the Canary Islands Government, Paulino Rivero, helped get things moving.

Four years later, on March 30, 2015, the new Center for Specialty Care (CAE) finally opened in El Mojón.