Alex Trelinski
RIBERA SALUD who run the Denia health department, including Denia hospital, have gone to court to delay health services returning to public management from January 31, 2024.
It’s a similar move unsuccessfully tried by the operator in the south of Alicante province over the Torrevieja health department, which reverted to public management in October 2021.
The Denia department serves 33 municipalities in the Marina Alta region including Benissa, Calpe, Denia, and Javea with a population of around 200,000 residents.
Valencian Health Minister, Miguel Minguez, met with Marina Alta mayors in Denia on Wednesday and said that talks with Ribera Salud are ‘rare’ and that their disagreement ‘does not stop anything’.
“We will continue to gather information so that the return to public management is done smoothly,” said Minguez.
Transfers to public management in both the Alzira and Torrevieja areas were met with criticism of longer waiting times for appointments and operations, in addition to a loss of staff leading up to the changeover.
In Torrevieja, Ribera Salud was accused by Valencian ministers of obstructing the transfer and not providing information.
Miguel Minguez said that staffing at Denia hospital is being monitored on a daily basis as well as ensuring that proper holiday cover is provided over the summer season.
He added that the new Ministry of Health commissioner for Denia, Jose Felix Quintero, is undertaking ‘exhuastive supervision’ of Ribera Salud’s service at the hospital and across the local health centres.
“There will be no inconvenience to deal with, as we work on reverting to public management,” said Minquez.
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