At last a decision has been taken on what to do with the old Son Dureta Hospital, which at one stage was the principal public health service hospital on the island. It was closed about six years ago when the new Son Espases hospital opened. The Balearic government announced this week that the site will be revedeloped to house a new medical centre to care for the seriously ill.
The whole project will cost an estimated 120 million euros. Only part of the old Son Dureta building will be used with two new buildings being constructed. If the local authorities had acted quicker then perhaps no new buildings would have been needed. The fact is that Son Dureta is now in a state of total decay. This is a great shame. The whole Son Dureta site was effectively abandoned with no plan. Initially it was thought that it would be demolished, then there was talk of it being transformed into a police station and now a hospital again.
I must congratulate the Balearic government on the project because it will mean an even better Balearic healthcare network. As I have said on many occasions in this space the Balearics should be proud of the local health service; I would say that it is second to none. It is a shame that there has been a long wait for the fate of Son Dureta to be finally resolved but this has more to do with politicians than the medical staff. It is a question of better late than never and at least Palma gets another hospital.