Torrevieja seeks to reduce waiting lists in Ophthalmology. Why patients are waiting and whether the situation may improve

At Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja, measures are being discussed to reduce waiting times in the Ophthalmology department. According to patients and local publications, ophthalmology remains one of the most overloaded specialties.

The issue is not unique to Torrevieja. According to official data from the Conselleria de Sanitat of the Valencian Community, Ophthalmology is among the specialties with the longest waiting lists. In 2024, more than 58,000 patients across the region were waiting for a first consultation in this field.

There are no publicly available statistics regarding average waiting time in minutes within outpatient visits in Torrevieja. Regional reports publish figures in days for consultation and surgical waiting lists but do not detail the time patients spend in registration and waiting rooms during a single visit. However, patients frequently mention long waits before seeing a specialist in social discussions.

The causes of overload are typical of public healthcare systems: population aging, high demand for cataract surgery and glaucoma treatment, shortage of specialists, and limited diagnostic capacity. In ophthalmology, a significant portion of time is devoted to instrumental examinations such as intraocular pressure measurement, optical coherence tomography, and visual field tests, which lengthens the consultation cycle.

The regional health authorities have previously announced plans to optimize schedules, redistribute patient flow, and strengthen staffing. Several departments in the Valencian Community are already implementing measures to reduce waiting lists for priority patients, including extended consultation hours and additional surgical sessions.

For Torrevieja residents, the practical question remains when these measures will translate into a real reduction in waiting times.

If changes are implemented systematically — increasing service capacity and digitalizing appointment systems — noticeable improvements could occur within a year. If workload pressures persist, waiting lists may remain a structural issue.

For the elderly population of Vega Baja, timely access to an ophthalmologist is not merely a matter of convenience, but of quality of life and independence.

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