74-year-old woman waiting 10 days for emergency surgery in Tenerife
A family from Tenerife has spoken out in desperation after their 74-year-old relative was left waiting for days for emergency surgery at the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC), despite being admitted with a fractured femur and classified as a priority case.
The woman has been hospitalised since 27th December and, according to her family, remains in severe pain while still awaiting surgery. Relatives say the prolonged delay has left her physically and mentally deteriorating. They have described the situation as “inhumane” and are seeking help outside the health system.
The patient’s daughter-in-law, Abigail Gómez, said the woman has spent more than a week immobilised in a hospital bed, enduring intense pain and uncertainty. She claims the patient is kept fasting every morning in case an operating theatre slot becomes available, meaning she often goes the entire day without food and only eats dinner.
“They keep telling us ‘maybe today’, so she is left without breakfast or lunch,” Gómez explained. “Day after day passes, and nothing happens.”
The family says both the patient’s husband and son remain at the hospital daily, waiting to see whether surgery will finally take place. In the meantime, they claim pain is managed through sedation when it becomes unbearable, leaving the woman disoriented and increasingly confused as the days go by.
“When the pain is too much, they sedate her. She loses awareness, and that’s getting worse with time,” Gómez said. “And when they have to move her to wash her, the pain is unbearable.”
The family fears the consequences of such prolonged immobility for a woman of her age. “How is a 74-year-old supposed to come out of this after so many days like this?” Gómez asked. “She is going to leave worse than when she arrived.”
They also claim the patient has not yet been properly assessed by a hospital trauma specialist. According to the family, the only detailed medical explanation they have received came from a trauma surgeon known to them personally, who allegedly confirmed that surgery could have been carried out at one point but was cancelled due to a lack of staff.
“There were no nurses, no assistants, no surgical team available,” Gómez said, linking the case to what she described as a chronic lack of resources and staff shortages. “This isn’t dignified healthcare. People are in corridors every day, and then you have someone waiting more than a week for emergency surgery.”
The family also claims they tried to submit a formal complaint through the hospital’s online system but were unable to do so, something Gómez says has happened before in a separate case involving her son. She insists the issue is not a technical problem on her end, as she has successfully completed other online procedures with public administrations using the same digital credentials.
Out of frustration, the family decided to write directly to all members of the Santa Cruz City Council, despite knowing the hospital is an island-wide facility and not under municipal control.
“It was an act of desperation,” Gómez said. “I know the council doesn’t run the hospital, but it felt like the most visible institution. This is not just about my mother-in-law. How many people are going through the same thing without anyone speaking up?”
She added that no response has been received so far.
The family insists their decision to go public is about more than one case. “Not even an animal should be left to suffer like this,” Gómez said. “We are people, and we have the right to be treated with dignity.”
They also stress that the woman had been living an active, independent life until recently, having overcome rectal cancer after chemotherapy and radiotherapy. “She went to the gym, she was healthy, and in one year her life has been turned upside down,” Gómez said. The family fears that the delay in surgery and prolonged immobility could mean she may never walk properly again, something they believe is entirely avoidable.
By speaking out, the family hopes to force action and prevent similar situations from affecting other patients. “If nothing else,” Gómez concluded, “maybe this will make someone stop and take responsibility before more people are left suffering in silence.”
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