Health will invest 19 million euros more in Health Area III than in 2022

INMA RUIZ Lorca

Thursday, November 10, 2022, 1:49 p.m.

The Ministry of Health will invest 198.7 million euros in Health Area III in 2023, 19 million more than in 2022. It was announced this Thursday at the Rafael Méndez de Lorca hospital by counselor Juan José Pedreño, who described this figure as « record”. He considered that “it is a sign of the regional government’s commitment to Lorca, Totana, Aledo, Águilas and Puerto Lumbreras to improve health care for users.”

He explained that the investment project includes the hiring of more professionals, improvements in health infrastructures, in health centers and in the Rafael Méndez hospital, and a shock plan to reduce waiting lists, “whose results we will see progressively in the next few months”.

In the personnel block, the budget allocates 131 million euros, with an increase of 10.5% compared to 2022 “to reinforce the templates, which will guarantee us to improve the care demand of Lorca and the rest of the municipalities and reduce waiting times to be attended in the most demanded specialties”.

He stated that his department is already working on this reinforcement and that “the area’s global workforce has increased by 15.7% since the start of the pandemic”, which translates into 308 more professionals. The counselor said that today a total of 2,258 people work in Area III. He added that the budget project includes an exclusive item of 1.8 million euros to reduce waiting lists. He clarified that “we are already working with the hospital services and increasing care activity to reduce these waiting times.”

In infrastructure investments, Area III “will be the one with the highest investment planned in the 2023 budgets”, with 10.4 million euros for works and new equipment for the health system. The actions include 6.5 million to continue the works of the Comprehensive High Resolution Center (Ciar) in Águilas and 2.5 million to continue with the master plan of the Rafael Méndez hospital, which includes in 2023 the second phase of the area of Emergencies and the construction project for the new surgical day hospital.

It is planned to allocate one million euros to investments in Primary Care in Lorca and the counselor advanced that “in the coming weeks we will present the project for the expansion and reform of the San Diego health center with a total investment of 2.7 million euros ». He explained that this action will benefit more than 30,000 users assigned to the San Diego area.

It also includes a budget to begin the bidding process for the new health center in San Cristóbal, “provided that the City of Lorca gives the land necessary to start the process,” Pedreño warned.