The Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital in Lanzarote has undergone a notable improvement in its operations over the past three years. According to official data from the Health Department, the center has successfully increased its annual surgical interventions by 5,000 while simultaneously reducing waiting lists. The healthcare manager, Pablo Eguía, highlighted that the average waiting time for surgery in Lanzarote now stands at 60 days.
This figure compares favorably to the average in the Canary Islands, which is 107 days, and the average across all Spanish communities, which is 127 days. Compared to the national average, procedures in Lanzarote are twice as fast. Furthermore, the percentage of patients waiting more than six months for surgery has been reduced by 77%, a result of prioritizing those who have been waiting the longest.
Eguía attributes this transformation to the hiring of more professionals and a general increase in activity. In the first half of 2026, the hospital's activity has grown between 10% and 25% across various services, including consultations, tests, and surgical procedures. "We handle more consultations, perform more tests, schedule more surgeries, and we do them sooner," he explained.
Comparing current surgical activity with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, considered the peak year, shows a significant increase. In 2019, 7,900 people underwent surgery, while last year the figure exceeded 13,000 interventions.
