Tenerife: The unfinished El Mojón hospital irritates locals
On Tenerife, locals and business owners are urging authorities to speed up the completion of the El Mojón hospital, the expansion of which has been delayed for a year.
The "For a Public Hospital in the South of Tenerife" platform and local entrepreneurs have called on the Ministry of Health to take a more active role in completing the construction of the El Mojón Hospital.
A representative of the platform, Jordi Esplugas, says that people are disappointed because the tender for the hospital expansion has been delayed for a year. The hospital is planned to be almost twice as large. Currently, there is an unfinished building there, which locals call a "monster."
"The tender was supposed to be announced last summer, and now they promise it in September-October. If all goes according to plan, the project will be ready in early 2026. The Minister of Health assured that there will be money in next year's budget to sign a contract for construction work in 2026. Then the expansion, which will last two to three years, will finally begin," Esplugas said on Onda Tenerife radio.
He recalled that the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the Minister of Health, Ester Monson, had already promised at their first meeting on September 12, 2023, that the hospital expansion would definitely take place. Previously, 45 million euros were allocated for this.
Thanks to the expansion of the hospital by 22,000 square meters, the quality of services will significantly improve. For example, the number of operating rooms will increase from 4 to 18, and maternity wards and a blood bank will also open.
The Association of Entrepreneurs of the South of Tenerife (CEST) stated that there is no reason to postpone the construction, because there is both money and opportunities. They demand that sufficient funds be allocated to complete the project.
"The south will continue to support the Pro Hospital del Sur de Tenerife platform in their fight for the hospital that our region needs," said CEST President Javier Cabrera. He stressed that they are not asking for anything special, but demanding a basic right – access to quality and effective public medicine.