New Costa Tropical public health centre officially opened

Health

The president of the Junta de Andalucía officially opened the facility in Salobreña which will serve a population of 17,583 including the villages of La Caleta and Lobres, as well as Molvízar, Ítrabo and Los Guájares

MJ Arrebola

Granada

The president of the Andalusian regional government, Juanma Moreno, officially opened the new public health centre in Salobreña in Granada province's Costa Tropical on ... Tuesday 14 July. He was accompanied by the Mayor of Salobreña, Javier Ortega among other local and regional politicians.

The centre, which has been attending patients since 22 June, is situated on Avenida del Gambullón, behind La Fuente park. It is spread over three floors and has been designed to make the most of natural light. The central government has funded the building work to the tune of 7.6 million euros and a further 12 million euros has been spent on equipment. It has been built on land owned by the town hall.

The new health centre has 22 consultation rooms and features more spacious specialist areas such as the accident and emergency department, which also offers improved accessibility; the maternal and child health unit, which includes a breastfeeding room and antenatal education facilities; and the admissions and public services area, which is now better laid out. In addition to the general practice and paediatric consultation rooms, there are rooms for minor surgery and diagnostic tests, as well as treatment rooms and health education rooms.

Among the improvements offered by the new health centre, the most notable are the addition of a radiology department – which means patients no longer need to travel to the Motril health centre – and a physiotherapy room, which until now had been located in a separate, remote building.

Furthermore, the workforce is being strengthened with the addition of one more doctor or nurse, bringing the total to eight. This means that the centre’s staff has increased by 11 professionals, including GPs, nurses and radiographers.

Moreno mentioned that a call for tenders will soon be issued for a high-resolution processing centre in the Alpujarra, following an agreement with Órgiva town hall with an investment of over 11 million euros.

Javier Ortega, the mayor of Salobreña, wished to express his particular gratitude for the cooperation between the various authorities, without which, he said, this project would not have been possible. The mayor pointed out that the old health centre had developed “significant shortcomings” over time.

The mayor also said that “concrete alone does not provide a solution”, stressing that, as well as having a good building, it is essential to staff it with the necessary professionals to cater for a population that swells during the summer months.

The health centre will serve a population of 17,583, comprising not only Salobreña but also the villages of La Caleta and Lobres, as well as the neighbouring municipalities of Molvízar (2,742 inhabitants), Ítrabo (1,036) and Los Guájares (1,094).