Despite the fact that their management contract of the Torrevieja Hospital has been ended, the Ministry of Health is continuing to use the services of the company that it has just “fired”, in order that it can continue to provide healthcare in a large part of its outsourced services .
Ribera has left in name, but a large part of the operation of the Torrevieja University Hospital and its health centres will continue to depend on this company.
The Ministry of Health has had to award the contracts by emergency means and directly, without a competition, about twenty contracts in total so that they can guarantee the continuity of health care.
Paradoxically, Ribera Salud, owned by the North American Centene Corporation, will provide services and supplies worth 16 million euros, quite probably rising to 24 million, through to December 31, 2022.
The most important service is the clinical analysis and microbiology service offered by Torrevieja Diagnostics, which is part of the Ribera Group, which will cost the Ministry of Health 7 million euros
