The Orihuela Council is set to take on the construction of a second health centre on the Costa, following the delegation of responsibilities from the Valencian regional government. The proposal will be presented at the next city plenary meeting, with funding provided by the Generalitat Valenciana.
The session, usually held on the last Thursday of the month, has been brought forward to Tuesday, December 23. Mayor Pepe Vegara’s proposal was supported by all parties except Ciudadanos, which argued that, according to procedural rules, a holiday period—in this case, Christmas—should push the meeting to the next working day, Friday, December 26. The party suggested that the governing coalition of PP and Vox wanted to hold the meeting early for convenience.
Delegated Competencies
The decision comes after the Generalitat revived a health-sector version of its “Plan Edificant” earlier this year. Through a new decree, the regional government can delegate construction and expansion of primary healthcare centres to municipalities that meet certain criteria, while the Generalitat assumes the cost of the projects. The aim is to speed up infrastructure improvements and align healthcare resources with demand in rapidly growing areas, including Orihuela Costa, Burriana, Santa Pola, Torrent-El Vedat, and Mislata.
The decree sets out a legal framework for collaboration between the regional health department and local councils, allowing each municipality to either build a new centre or expand an existing one.
A Long-Awaited Project
Orihuela’s mayor has long championed the project. Although promised by former regional president Carlos Mazón, it was not included in the initial budgets, which instead allocated €4 million to refurbish the existing Aguamarina-La Regia-Cabo Roig health centre. That facility serves around 30,000 year-round residents, a number that rises threefold during peak tourist seasons, as its aging infrastructure shows signs of wear.
Residents have been waiting for five years for either the expansion of the existing centre or a second facility, and many support both options.
Location and Plans
In November 2024, the council allocated a 12,000-square-metre plot in Villa Rosa, in the northern part of the coast, between Calle’s Beduinos and J’Alhamed. The site is roughly six kilometres from the current health centre, near the Torrevieja municipal boundary, and large enough to accommodate parking and a five-storey building.
Following approval, the land will require a zoning change from educational to healthcare use. The city council will then commission the project design, approve it, tender the construction, and hire contractors—steps that have not yet begun.
Facility Layout and Services
The proposed centre will include:
Primary Care: Family medicine (7 doctors), nursing (5 consultations), paediatrics (2 doctors), midwifery, and social work.
Patient Services: Centralised appointments, information desks, administrative offices, and accessible waiting areas.
Support Units: Dentistry and paediatric dental services, sexual and reproductive health, rehabilitation, and radiology (including digital radiography and mammography).
Emergency Services: Two family medicine consultations, one paediatrics, two nursing, one vital support, plus on-site administrative and support staff.
The facility is designed to meet the healthcare needs of a growing population while complementing nearby services, such as the Acequión health centre in Torrevieja, which currently serves over 200,000 potential patients across ten municipalities.
Original source: es