The Board inaugurates the new Emergency Service at Las Albarizas, in Marbella

The Andalusian Regional Government inaugurated this Monday the new Primary Care Emergency Service (SUAP) in Marbella, which has moved from the Las Albarizas health center to a new adjacent building “to improve the service provided to the residents of this city and also nearby towns such as Ojén and Istán, as well as to the population visiting throughout the year,” as reported by the Deputy Minister of Health, Presidency, and Emergencies of the Andalusian Regional Government, Nicolás Navarro.

These new emergency facilities, equipped with the latest technology, have 11 consultation rooms such as critical care, short-term treatment, triage, family medicine, and nursing; which are already fully operational with a staff of 18 family doctors, 19 nurses, and nine orderlies, as well as two advanced life support ambulances and one transfer ambulance.

The relocation of the SUAP from the Las Albarizas health center to this new building, built and donated by the City Council, frees up space that will allow the expansion of the health center by utilizing the nine consultation rooms that were allocated for emergencies and improving the service.

In this way, the Deputy Minister noted, the city, which has another SUAP in San Pedro de Alcántara, “takes a huge leap in quality in the service to users and also in the conditions in which professionals work, gaining in privacy and intimacy and in other aspects such as spaciousness and brightness,” by having three bedrooms, a living room, and full bathrooms in the reserved area on the upper floor.

This inauguration is part of the transformation of the Malaga healthcare system undertaken by the government of Juanma Moreno, “after years of mistreatment by previous governments.” “We are doing it with facts and fulfilled commitments,” the Deputy Minister assured, recalling the laying of the first stone of the Hospital Virgen de la Esperanza and the expansion of Costa del Sol.

Mayor Ángeles Muñoz noted that “this building responds to a historic claim of the residents and is the result of collaboration between administrations to provide the municipality with modern, functional facilities adapted to current needs,” while highlighting that the city “is experiencing a true revolution in this area thanks to key investments in which the City Council is working hand in hand with the regional government.”

Comprehensive Transformation of Primary Care

“We continue to transform the Andalusian healthcare system and, moreover, in the case of Primary Care, we are doing so with a comprehensive change of model that is allowing us, little by little but steadily, to improve accessibility and the service we provide to the Andalusians,” declared Navarro.

“This transformation is being carried out with specific and tangible measures, more resources, and more professionals,” he said. This year, the Andalusian Regional Government allocates a budget of 16.265 billion euros to Health, 61% more than in 2018, which translates to 1,887 euros per inhabitant, above the national average for the first time. 35% is dedicated to Primary Care with 5.472 billion euros, 60% more than in 2018 (3.441 billion euros).

Additionally, currently 31,374 professionals make up the staff of Primary Care, a 21.4% increase since 2018. 9.3% are family doctors, who have increased from 6,851 to 7,486.

As he recalled, the Health Department has invested more than 362 million euros in Malaga since 2019 for healthcare infrastructure, and this year's budget allocates another 91 million euros to the province.

During this time, he highlighted that the Regional Government has tackled the construction of the Los Pacos health center in Fuengirola, the new day hospital for oncology and hematology; the health centers of Las Chapas and Ricardo Soriano, also in Marbella; the expansion of the one in Los Boliches, in Fuengirola, and the one in La Carihuela, in Torremolinos.

To this, he added the upcoming inauguration of the expansion of the Hospital de la Axarquía and the new health center in Nerja; the works being carried out at the El Palo health center and the adaptation of the Pascual Hospital in the capital. Also, the new projects such as the health center in Antequera, already underway; those in Gamarra, Rincón de la Victoria, Cártama, or Algatocín.