AT least three people, including a baby, were taken to hospital after a roof partially collapsed at a Costa del Sol medical facility.
Two adults were rushed to A&E after the false ceiling in a waiting room suddenly gave way at San Miguel medical centre in Torremolinos around 2pm on Tuesday. The severity of their injuries remains unclear.
The child was transferred to Malaga’s Maternal and Children’s Hospital for a full check-up, the Andalucian government said, though the baby does not appear to have been hurt.
At least five people were in the waiting room when the roof collapsed, sending debris crashing to the floor as ceiling panels came tumbling down.
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While the Andalucian government said the cause of the collapse was still under investigation, critics insisted authorities had long been warned about the deterioration at San Miguel – one of the oldest health centres in the area, built in the mid-1980s.
Manuel Mengual, a spokesperson for a local nurses’ union, said: “It’s a centre that’s in a very poor state. It’s probably the most run-down facility in the entire Costa del Sol district.
“Not long ago we held a protest outside the health centre itself, highlighting the neglect it has suffered at the hands of the district.
“Today is the culmination of what we’ve been warning about for a long time — that the centre had been completely neglected.”
The collapse comes as Andalucia’s regional government, led by right-wing Partido Popular (PP) leader Juanma Moreno, faces mounting backlash over what critics call a ‘public healthcare crisis.’
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In October last year, Andalucia’s health minister Rocio Hernandez resigned in disgrace following a series of failures in a public breast cancer screening programme.
The Junta admitted 2,000 women were affected, with hundreds reporting that after their initial mammogram they were not informed of suspected cancer.
In some cases, this led to delays of months — or even years — in treatment, allowing the disease to progress.
The regional government also faced widespread outrage over the state of neglect in hospitals, with thousands taking to the streets in protests across Andalucia in November last year.
On Tuesday, shortly after Moreno announced regional elections for May 17, opposition candidate Maria Jesus Montero of the left-wing PSOE accused him of calling the vote early because ‘the public healthcare crisis is overwhelming him.’
“The sooner the better; Andalucia needs a government that will solve its problems. We like May 17 — the date for change is set,” Montero added.
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