Collapse at Son Espases: only urgent operations are being performed and patients are being referred due to a lack of beds

PalmThe overcrowding in the Emergency Department ofSon Espases University Hospital It continues to create critical situations, with patients potentially spending days waiting for a bed and surgeries being canceled due to lack of availability. The situation remains critical despite the contingency plans of the Balearic Islands Health Service (IbSalut), according to complaints from unions and healthcare professionals at the hospital. As an operating room professional, who wished to remain anonymous, explained to ARA Baleares, "With no beds available, patients cannot be operated on." The Balearic Islands Health Service confirmed that on Thursday there were 77 patients awaiting admission to Son Espases Hospital, which it described as a "peak in demand" due to the flu and the admission of chronically ill patients. However, union sources such as USAE emphasize that the situation is beyond normal and seriously affects the quality of care.

Among the most alarming cases is that of an elderly woman with respiratory problems who had to wait more than 90 hours for a bed, despite being admitted to temporarily adapted waiting areas. According to the UGT and USAE unions, patients with chronic or acute needs are being housed on bunk beds in passageways, waiting rooms, or areas not designed for hospitalization, generating "problems of safety, dignity, and quality of care" and significant strain on healthcare staff. The situation has also forced the suspension of all scheduled surgical activity—only urgent or oncological procedures have continued—and the transfer of patients to other hospitals within the same healthcare group, such as the Virgen de la Salud Hospital or the General Hospital of Palma. These transfers, along with the arrival of ambulances from Son Espases, have contributed to increased pressure on healthcare services in other centers on Mallorca.

The collapse is not limited to Son Espases. At Manacor Hospital, 11 of the 14 examination rooms are occupied, and in the observation area, nine of the 12 available beds are occupied. At Son Llàtzer, there are 28 patients on the waiting list, with the pediatric unit also at capacity. Union sources indicate that part of the overcrowding in these centers is a direct consequence of patient and ambulance transfers from Son Espases, which is trying to alleviate the pressure on its emergency department. According to the unions, the origin of this situation lies in the lack of planning and additional staff, along with an increase in surgical activity and 100% occupancy of inpatient beds, especially after the peaks in flu and chronic illnesses recorded at the end of January.

For all these reasons, both UGT and USAE are demanding urgent and structural measures to prevent these incidents from recurring, noting that the contingency plans adopted so far have not been sufficient. The Ministry of Health is confident that activity at Son Espases will gradually return to normal throughout the week and emphasizes that all beds will remain available to care for referred patients, as it is the Balearic Islands' referral center.