Costa del Sol hospital's new radiotherapy unit awaits green light from state nuclear safety board
Some of the other new services that will be offered by the recently expanded facility in Marbella will also need to be signed off by the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear
The radiotherapy unit at Hospital Universitario Costa del Sol (HUCS) - one of the new areas to be incorporated into the centre's portfolio of services after the extension works - must still receive the go-ahead from Spain's Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear safety board (CSN). According to regional government sources, the facilities are currently "in the process" of receiving the green light for their entry into operation.
The CSN is the sole competent authority in Spain for nuclear safety and radiation protection. It must authorise both the construction of facilities, such as the radiotherapy unit, and their entry into operation. For commissioning, the Junta is required to draw up various documents such as a safety study, an operating regulation and an emergency plan, in addition to the verification of the facility. All of this must be approved by the CSN in order to authorise the entry into service of the new unit, which must also be staffed with personnel.
The Andalusian health service still has to acquire the equipment for the implementation of the new nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy services
Radiotherapy is not the only new HUCS facility that has yet to be given the green light by the CSN. Nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy must also receive authorisation, although the Andalusian health service (SAS) has yet to acquire the equipment. Radiotherapy, meanwhile, already has the equipment.
Three phases and one in progress
These services are practically the only ones remaining for the Marbella hospital expansion to be fully operational in terms of two of the three planned phases. The first phase ended in 2023 with the opening and occupation of one of the two new buildings (the 'C' - the one with the glass facade); the second, which began in March, involved the transfer to hospital building 'B' of most of its activity: admission; outpatient consultations, including the rehabilitation gym and blood draws; the oncohaematology day hospital; the medical day hospital; the hospital pharmacy; major outpatient surgery and the general surgical block; as well as the radiodiagnosis area and the assisted reproduction unit.
The new observation unit became operational in June and continues to expand to increase space by 69%
The third and final phase, which is currently still under way, involves the refurbishment of a space of around 7,000 square metres in the old building ('A'), which is mainly used for hospital processes, the emergency department, intensive care unit, hospital pharmacy, the new endoscopy and haemodialysis area. The first action of this phase was completed in June with the implementation of the new observation bed area of the emergency department - a space of 800 square metres with 40 stations and a technical and urgent care unit, which is located in the place previously occupied by the administrative area.
This area will continue to grow to 1,040 square metres, an increase of 69%, once the next steps in the process of refurbishing the old building are completed. There will be 17 more posts and an observation area with armchairs, a polyclinic or technical room, a waiting room and two new emergency care units.
