Tenerife Invests €12 Million to Slash Healthcare Waiting Lists
Tenerife is investing 12 million euros to expand diagnostic imaging capacity and reduce long patient waiting lists across the Canary Islands.
Tenerife’s public healthcare system is set for a major overhaul, thanks to a new 12-million-euro investment aimed at clearing the backlog of diagnostic imaging tests. Officials from the Tenerife Island Council (Cabildo) and the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) announced that the funding, managed by the public entity Imetisa, will be used to extend hospital service hours and upgrade medical technology.
The plan focuses on two main areas: 9.8 million euros will go toward performing an additional 11,000 MRI scans per year, while 2.3 million euros will fund 9,000 extra ultrasounds. This move is a direct response to long waiting lists across the region, where 1,300 patients are currently waiting up to 90 days for an MRI, and 5,500 patients face waits of up to 150 days for an ultrasound. In Tenerife alone, these figures account for 500 and 3,000 patients, respectively.
To tackle these delays, diagnostic teams will now work until 10:00 p.m. New protocols have also been established to ensure test results are delivered within six hours for urgent cases and twelve hours for hospital inpatients. Health authorities emphasize that this speed is vital, particularly for early cancer diagnosis, where time is a critical factor in patient outcomes.
This partnership between the Cabildo and the SCS utilizes Imetisa’s facilities near the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (HUC). The initiative will benefit patients at both the HUC and La Candelaria Hospital, as well as those living on La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. Imetisa has become a key player in this effort, managing advanced equipment such as the archipelago’s only three-tesla MRI scanner and a specialized hyperbaric chamber.
The rollout will be staggered: the increased MRI capacity is already active, while the new ultrasound equipment is scheduled to arrive this October. This investment marks a significant turnaround for Imetisa, which has moved from low productivity in previous years to becoming a vital resource in reducing waiting times for patients across the Canary Islands.