42% of all surgical procedures are for foreigners

Non-Spanish patients now contribute 42% of the procedures in the operating theatres at the District Hospital in Torrevieja.

British ex-pats were the largest group, making up 16% of the 22,640 operations carried out in the hospital last year. This reflects the high numbers of British tourists in the area, and the number who reside in the town for at least part of the year, many of them aged over 65. Britons make up 10% of the padron census in the 12 municipalities serviced by the hospital.

The Germans, Norwegians and Moroccans each make up less than 5% of this figure.

The report has been release amid increasing concerns in the Spanish press that the costs of providing care to ‘health tourists’ is escalating, and claims that Spain is not receiving the costs of these operations reimbursed in full.