Hospital Pascual reopens in Málaga: patients now being treated, with inpatient services planned for 2027

Hospital Pascual in Málaga has reopened to patients after several years without providing medical services. The building on Calle Amargura, next to the Santuario de la Victoria, began operating on Monday, November 9, 2026, with outpatient consultations and a new Continuing Care Unit designed particularly for vulnerable elderly people and patients with complex chronic conditions.

The reopening marks the first stage of a phased project aimed at strengthening Málaga's public healthcare services.

For now, the hospital is not providing conventional inpatient care, meaning patients who require admission must continue to be treated at hospitals where this service is available.

The Andalusian Regional Government expects to open the inpatient ward during the first quarter of 2027, when new facilities for gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures are also scheduled to become operational.

The project to restore the former hospital involves an investment of €6.5 million and forms part of a wider reorganisation of services at Málaga's Hospital Regional Universitario.

Which medical specialities are now available at Hospital Pascual?

The first phase of the reopening has brought medical activity back to the building on Calle Amargura, with outpatient appointments across four specialities.

According to the Andalusian Health Service, the hospital has started operating with 15 outpatient consultation rooms.

These include six for Internal Medicine, four for Neurology, three for Gastroenterology and two for Anaesthesiology.

The consultations were previously provided at other facilities belonging to Málaga's Hospital Regional Universitario and have now been relocated to Hospital Pascual.

The aim of this reorganisation is to make better use of existing healthcare facilities and improve the provision of specialist care for referred patients.

Although the original project included plans for 16 consultation rooms, the official distribution announced for the opening accounts for 15 operational rooms.

Patient appointments and services will be introduced progressively during the first few days to allow staff and hospital operations to adapt to the building.

The reopening does not mean residents can attend the hospital directly to request specialist consultations without a referral or appointment. Patients will continue to be seen through the usual public healthcare system procedures.

A new unit aims to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions among elderly patients

One of the main additions at Hospital Pascual is the new Continuing Care Unit (Unidad de Continuidad Asistencial, or UCA).

This service is designed primarily for frail elderly patients, people living with multiple chronic illnesses and those who require closer medical monitoring.

Its purpose is to provide an intermediate level of care between primary healthcare appointments and conventional hospital admission.

In certain circumstances, patients require tests, treatments or medical assessments that do not necessarily involve an extended hospital stay.

However, without suitable intermediate services, these needs can lead to repeated visits to emergency departments or hospital admissions that might otherwise be avoided.

The Continuing Care Unit aims to address some of these situations through scheduled treatment and coordination with other medical services.

It will also support patients who have recently been discharged from hospital but still require medical supervision or additional care during their recovery.

According to Beatriz Sobrino, Deputy Medical Director of Hospitalisation, the new unit will provide care more closely adapted to the needs of particularly vulnerable patients.

The objective is to identify clinical problems before they become more serious and, whenever medically appropriate, prevent further hospital admissions.

What treatments will be provided at the Continuing Care Unit?

The UCA facilities have been designed to carry out medical procedures requiring professional supervision but not necessarily several days of inpatient care.

The unit includes consultation, examination and treatment areas, as well as spaces for scheduled healthcare procedures.

Treatments that may be carried out in this type of unit include certain blood transfusions and paracentesis procedures.

Paracentesis is a medical procedure in which accumulated fluid is removed from the abdominal cavity using a carefully controlled needle puncture.

The unit can also manage other clinical conditions requiring specialist assessment and observation over a limited period.

For patients with complex chronic illnesses, regular monitoring can help identify changes in their condition and make adjustments to their care.

These resources are intended to reduce unnecessary journeys between healthcare services and improve coordination between medical teams.

However, decisions about which patients are suitable for treatment in the unit will be made by healthcare professionals according to each individual's clinical needs.

First patients arrive at Hospital Pascual after years of closure

The first day of the reopening saw patients arriving at the outpatient consultation rooms and admissions desk.

From early Monday morning, visitors began attending the building for specialist medical appointments and administrative procedures.

Among them was José Jaramillo, who has lived in Málaga for two years and attended a gastroenterology appointment after being referred by his doctor.

Speaking to Málaga Hoy, he said the relocation of his appointment had proceeded smoothly, without significant administrative delays.

Other visitors arrived to arrange appointments and familiarise themselves with the new facilities.

They included Yaiza Marcos and Fran Peralta, who reported some difficulties using the electronic appointment system but said the queue for in-person assistance moved quickly.

Patients also travelled from other parts of Málaga province.

Juan Jesús Guillén, who came from Antequera for an appointment previously scheduled at Hospital Civil, welcomed the introduction of the new healthcare facility.

Meanwhile, Francisco Navas, a resident of the Cristo de la Epidemia neighbourhood, praised the reopening of a building that had not been used to treat patients for several years.

Initial reactions reflected satisfaction at the availability of additional healthcare facilities, although questions remained about the services still awaiting introduction.

When will Hospital Pascual begin admitting inpatients?

Inpatient hospital care is one of the main services that has yet to become operational.

The second phase of the project is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, according to the timetable announced by Andalusia's Health Minister, Antonio Sanz.

This stage will involve adapting the building's second floor to accommodate patients who need to remain in hospital.

The plans include 35 double rooms and seven rooms adapted for people with reduced mobility.

If all the double rooms contain two inpatient beds and the adapted rooms have one bed each, the proposed layout would provide a potential capacity of 77 beds.

However, the actual number of operational beds will depend on how the services are organised and the resources ultimately made available.

The new facilities will focus particularly on older patients, people with complex chronic conditions and those requiring palliative care.

The second phase will also introduce three gastrointestinal endoscopy rooms, intended to increase capacity for these diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Opening these services will allow the building to resume hospital functions that are not yet available.

From an initial promise of 200 beds to a phased reopening

The restoration of Hospital Pascual has been accompanied by several announcements and changes to the expected opening schedule.

In 2022, the Andalusian Regional Government presented the incorporation of the former hospital into the public healthcare system as a measure to strengthen medical services in Málaga and address the shortage of hospital beds.

Initial proposals included the possibility of providing approximately 200 beds.

However, the current reopening is only partial, and the layout announced for the next phase indicates a smaller capacity than that original figure.

The hospital is beginning with outpatient consultations and the Continuing Care Unit, while inpatient services will have to wait until the remaining work is completed and the new facilities are ready.

The Regional Government has divided the reopening project into three phases, although the exact date for completing the entire programme has not been confirmed in the information published about the first stage.

The project's progress will be particularly important in determining how much Hospital Pascual can contribute to relieving pressure on other healthcare facilities in Málaga.

€6.5 million investment to restore the former hospital

The redevelopment of Hospital Pascual involves an announced investment of €6.5 million to adapt the building for its planned role within the public healthcare system.

The property became linked to the Andalusian public healthcare network through an agreement reached in 2022, although medical activity has only now resumed several years later.

The first phase of work focused on adapting the ground floor to accommodate outpatient consultations and the new unit for patients with complex medical needs.

The building also houses the Provincial Central Purchasing Department, which was previously relocated there.

The second phase involves adapting more than 2,300 square metres for inpatient accommodation and gastrointestinal endoscopy services.

Restoring the building will allow some services at Hospital Regional to be reorganised and release space in other healthcare facilities.

According to the Regional Government's announced plans, the hospital will have 259 clinical and non-clinical professionals across its services, although this figure refers to the planned workforce and does not necessarily represent new recruitment.

Medical union calls for more staff and warns of Málaga's hospital bed shortage

The reopening has been welcomed by healthcare representatives, although some have expressed reservations about its limited initial scope.

The Málaga Medical Union considers any increase in healthcare resources a positive development but warns that the partial opening of Hospital Pascual will not, by itself, resolve the province's wider public healthcare challenges.

Its president, Antonio Martín, has acknowledged that the new facilities could help reduce some of the pressure on other hospitals.

However, he believes the planned capacity will be insufficient to address the existing shortage of hospital beds.

The union has also raised concerns about staffing levels.

According to figures cited by its president, of the approximately 250 employees expected to work at the hospital, only two would be newly recruited Internal Medicine specialists assigned to the Continuing Care Unit.

This is the union's assessment and should be distinguished from the Regional Government's overall staffing figures.

The organisation is calling for more healthcare professionals to ensure that the reorganisation does not simply involve moving existing services from one building to another.

The debate highlights one of the central questions surrounding the project: whether the reopening will genuinely increase healthcare capacity as well as redistribute existing resources.

What does the reopening of Hospital Pascual mean for Málaga's healthcare system?

Bringing the former Hospital Pascual back into operation represents an important step in restoring healthcare infrastructure in Málaga city.

The addition of outpatient consultation rooms and a unit for chronically ill patients could improve the organisation of certain services and provide alternative care options for people with complex medical needs.

In particular, the Continuing Care Unit is designed to support vulnerable patients and reduce avoidable emergency department visits.

However, the scale of the improvement will depend on factors such as staffing levels, coordination with primary care, appointment availability and the effective introduction of inpatient services.

The coming months will be crucial in determining whether the project progresses according to the announced timetable.

The second phase is expected to introduce inpatient rooms and gastrointestinal endoscopy facilities during the first quarter of 2027, in line with the Regional Government's commitment.

Hospital Pascual in Málaga has begun welcoming its first patients, but its reopening is not yet complete. The launch of outpatient consultations and the Continuing Care Unit marks the beginning of a new chapter for the building on Calle Amargura, while the city awaits the arrival of the additional hospital beds that remain part of the project.