Torrevieja Hospital has replaced more than 40% of its beds for inpatients

2024 management report highlights pressures from high proportion of elderly and foreign residents

Torrevieja Hospital has recently replaced 100 inpatient beds with an investment of €309,819 (including IVA/VAT).

The hospital has more than 270 beds in total, including those in general inpatient wards as well as in specialised units such as ICU, Psychiatry, and Paediatrics.

Some of the beds that have been replaced had been in use for over 15 years.

The new beds, which have been distributed across various units of the hospital, are equipped with advanced systems for ergonomics, mobility, and pressure injury prevention.

According to the hospital, these improvements enhance both “patient comfort and the work of healthcare staff”.

In addition, four high-tech critical care beds have been added to the Intensive Care Unit, thereby strengthening the hospital’s capacity to respond to complex clinical situations and maintaining the unit’s total capacity of 18 beds.

The new beds are strictly for inpatients and are not for the use of companions or family members when they stay overnight in patients’ individual rooms.

Catchment area has more than 50% foreign residents

According to its 2024 management report, the hospital recorded a total of 14,163 inpatient admissions (slightly fewer than the 14,521 the previous year), resulting in a reduced bed occupancy rate of 83.45%, nearly five percentage points lower than in 2023 (88.16%).

The report also recorded 83,549 bed-days, with an average length of stay of 6.62 days per patient, slightly below the 6.65 days reported in the previous year.

The 30-day readmission rate remained at 8.44%, the same as in 2023.

In 2024, the Torrevieja Health Department served a registered population of 215,558 people, an increase of more than 8,000 compared to the previous year.

According to the management report, this catchment area has the highest proportion of residents aged over 65 (28.8%) and foreign residents (51%) in the entire Valencian Community.

This demographic contributes to healthcare demand characterised by “complex clinical profiles and significant pressure on health services”.

The department’s total budget rose to €233 million, an increase of 6.42% compared to 2023, with more than half (51.3%) allocated to staffing costs.

The workforce expanded by 211 professionals, bringing the total to 2,206 employees, of whom 70.2% are women.

In Primary Care, nearly 1.8 million consultations were carried out, including over 286,000 during out-of-hours services.

There were also 244,821 outpatient consultations, with an average waiting time of 59 days, and 10,854 surgical procedures, with an average wait of 64 days (well below the regional average).

The Home Hospitalisation Unit cared for over 700 patients, the majority receiving palliative care, and the emergency department managed 83,682 hospital cases.

Image: GVA