Ms. Irene Celdrán Ruiz, Councillor for Health
Ms. María Agustina Rodríguez Navarro, Councillor for Social Welfare.
Mr. Manuel Mestre Barea, Councillor for Orihuela Costa
THE INVISIBLE CRISIS
Why Orihuela Costa Is Reaching Breaking Point in Elderly Care?
For decades, Orihuela Costa has been marketed as a sun-drenched haven for European retirees. But beneath the postcard images of Playa Flamenca and Villamartín is a growing social crisis that can no longer be described as “a concern.” It is now an emergency.
Orihuela Costa is home to tens of thousands of year-round residents, and the population swells sharply in peak season. Yet the infrastructure required for an ageing community has not kept pace. The result is predictable: delayed care, rising dependency, and a quiet transfer of responsibility from public institutions to families, neighbours, and volunteers.
A HEALTHCARE SYSTEM UNDER SIEGE
Accessible local healthcare is the cornerstone of dignified ageing. On the Costa, that cornerstone is cracking. The existing Centro de Salud was designed for a much smaller community. Today it is visibly overburdened, and managing chronic conditions becomes harder each year as waiting times grow and capacity strains.
We have heard promises for years about a second health centre. If the council is now “fast-tracking” one in the Villa Rosa area, then residents deserve more than reassuring headlines. They deserve a timetable they can hold you to.
Meanwhile, older residents are still forced to travel to Torrevieja and beyond for basic specialised care — a journey that becomes increasingly unrealistic as mobility declines.
A RESIDENTIAL CARE DESERT
The shortage of residential care is even more stark. The Costa lacks adequate local public provision for nursing and long-term care — a glaring gap in a district with a high concentration of older residents.
Private “senior living” developments may be emerging, and private providers may see opportunity. But luxury solutions are not a public policy. For many residents, the choice remains brutal: pay unaffordable private fees, depend on informal care, or leave the area when full-time support becomes unavoidable.
And let us be frank: charities like Help at Home do heroic work — but volunteers should not be the last safety net standing between vulnerable people and collapse.
AGEING IN PLACE — WITHOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE
Most people want to remain in their own homes as they age. But “ageing in place” only works when the environment is designed for it.
On much of Orihuela Costa, it isn’t.
Too many urbanisations lack basic “last mile” accessibility — safe pavements, ramps, crossings, benches, reliable local transport, and nearby day services. Without Centros de Día and community hubs offering meals, therapy, monitoring, and social contact, many older residents become trapped behind their own front doors. Isolation becomes illness.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO
This letter is not written for sympathy. It is written for action.
1. Publish within 30 days a public plan for elderly services on Orihuela Costa: health centre timeline, staffing intentions, and delivery milestones.
2. Commit to at least one operational day centre hub on the Costa (even if interim), with a clear location and start date.
3. Expand telecare / home support for seniors living alone, with published eligibility and coverage targets.
4. Convene a formal working group including the council, Generalitat, and frontline organisations, and publish minutes and actions.
5. Provide a single named point of accountability for delivery — and a date for a public update.
Orihuela Costa is no longer a holiday postcard. It is a permanent home for thousands of older people. If this gap is not addressed with urgent delivery — not slogans, not announcements — then the dream that brought many here will become a logistical nightmare in their final years.
We request a written reply within 14 days, with detail of: what you will do, by when, and who is responsible.
Respectfully,
Peter Houghton
Orihuela Costa
