No 1078 Monday 2nd - Sunday 8th June 2025
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The Costa Blanca’s oldest ‘FREE’ English language newspaper - WITH THE LARGEST LOCAL CIRCULATION
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D O L O N D R O P S D E M A N D F O R P R I VAT E T A K E O V E R B U T S T I L L WA N T S M A J O R E X PA N S I O N O F T O R R E V I E J A H O S P I TA L
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n a political reversal of policy, Mayor Eduardo Dolon and his ruling Partido Popular (PP) have backed off their full-throated campaign to return Torrevieja Hospital to private hands under the Ribera health group. Instead, they’re now calling for a major expansion of the hospital—regardless of who’s managing it. This bombshell was dropped during May’s heated plenary session, where a Vox motion calling for the hospital to be re-privatised was quietly watered down. The PP removed demands for private management and softened critical language, replacing it with a push for infrastructure upgrades and more medical staff. The PP’s new stance stunned observers, considering just last year they were marching side-by-side with Ribera in protests demanding the reversal of the 2021 public takeover. Now, they insist the priority is improving care, not the management model. Health Councillor Rosa Cañon praised the old concession system but admitted improvements under public control are happening, “little by little.” She also exposed broken promises from the previous left-wing Valencian Community government, which pledged millions for upgrades but failed to deliver.
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