THE Costa del Sol’s flagship hospital has finally completed its expansion after 16 years in the making.
The new and improved University Hospital in Marbella is officially open to all and sundry across southern Malaga.
The €100-million expansion will be especially valued by cancer patients who were previously forced to travel to Malaga for treatment.
Two new buildings have been added to the hospital which provide additional consultation rooms, 16 operating theatres, and specialist radiotherapy and reproductive units.
New, state-of-the-art equipment, including a CT scanner and a mammography unit used for the early detection of breast cancer, has also been installed as part of the upgrade.
The expanded hospital has also created 276 new healthcare roles, helping reduce pressure on services in the region and provide better care.
The expansion was signed off in 2007 and building work started in 2008, but the project stalled in 2010, leading Junta president Juanma Moreno to speak of a ‘very serious healthcare deficit’ lasting for over a decade.
At the same time, Marbella and the western Costa del Sol have seen their population rise by almost 3% each year, leaving the hospital struggling with limited space and resources as demand continued to grow.
The project resumed in 2021 as this ‘healthcare deficit’ became clear.
Cancer patients often found themselves heading to Malaga’s Virgen de la Victoria hospital due to a lack of oncology resources on the Costa del Sol.
The project forms part of a wider healthcare modernisation drive across Malaga province, with €360 million invested over the past seven years and a further €91 million earmarked in the current budget
With the long-delayed works now complete, officials say the expanded hospital marks a turning point for healthcare on the Costa del Sol, bringing specialist services closer to home for thousands of residents.
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