A patient with a chronic illness and disability has publicly raised concerns about delayed specialist appointments and access to healthcare in Ibiza, describing his experience as an example of what he believes are wider problems within the island's public health system.

Tomas Planells Struse, writing in a letter to the editor published on September 16, said he is a chronic oncology patient who has undergone around ten surgical procedures and is unable to travel independently.

His letter focuses on difficulties accessing specialist follow-up care at Hospital Can Misses and questions whether existing waiting-list guarantees adequately cover patients who require continuing medical monitoring.

Patient Says Appointments Disappeared From the App

Planells says that, several weeks ago, the Espai Salut application showed him around ten overdue appointments.

According to his account, he requested access to care under the Balearic Islands' waiting-time guarantee but was told that the appointments were follow-up consultations and therefore were not covered.

He says the appointments subsequently disappeared from the application. Planells has formally requested his appointment history so that he can establish what happened to the missing records.

These are his personal claims and have not been independently established as a system-wide problem.

What the Balearic Waiting-Time Guarantee Covers

The Balearic Health Service states that the waiting-time guarantee applies to patients awaiting scheduled, non-urgent specialist care in three main areas: first specialist consultations, first diagnostic or therapeutic tests and scheduled non-urgent surgery.

The current guidance provides a maximum waiting period of 60 days for a first specialist consultation or diagnostic test and 180 days for surgery, after which eligible patients can request treatment under the guarantee.

The official rules do not list routine follow-up consultations among the three categories covered by the guarantee.

Difficulty Getting Through to Traumatology

Planells also describes difficulties trying to contact the Traumatology department.

He says he was told that the department only provides telephone attention between 8am and 9am and that, as an alternative, he was advised to go to the Emergency Department.

For a patient requiring a planned specialist review, Planells argues that directing people towards emergency care is not an appropriate solution.

Concerns Over Can Misses Emergency Department

His criticism comes amid recent reports of significant pressure at the Emergency Department of Can Misses.

In August, the nursing union SATSE reported that the department was experiencing waits of more than 12 hours, with more than 90 patients at times either waiting or already being treated. The union also reported an overnight shift in which five doctors and seven nurses were responsible for the service.

A separate medical opinion published at the end of August also referred to waiting times exceeding 12 hours and a regular presence of more than 90 patients in the department.

These figures come from professional organisations and opinion commentary rather than an official assessment of the department's performance.

A Wider Debate About Chronic Care

The letter raises a broader issue about patients who depend on regular follow-up rather than one-off consultations.

For people living with chronic conditions, specialist reviews can form an important part of ongoing care. Planells argues that excluding follow-up appointments from the formal waiting-time guarantee can leave patients without the same protections available for first consultations, diagnostic tests and surgery.

His criticism is directed at the system rather than individual healthcare workers. He explicitly says that doctors, nurses and administrative staff are not the target of his complaint.

Questions for Ibiza's Health Authorities

Planells addresses his questions to the Balearic Health Minister and the management of the Ibiza and Formentera Health Area.

Among the issues he raises are how many chronic patients currently have overdue follow-up appointments, whether delayed consultations are being properly recorded on official waiting lists and what alternatives are available to patients who cannot physically reach hospital services without assistance.

He also questions the practice of directing patients with non-emergency needs towards an already busy Emergency Department.

A Personal Account, Not an Official Investigation

The concerns described in the letter represent the experience and opinions of one patient and should not be taken as proof that the same situation affects all chronic patients in Ibiza.

However, his account highlights a genuine distinction in the Balearic waiting-list system between first specialist consultations and follow-up care, as well as ongoing concerns raised publicly about pressure on Can Misses Emergency Department.

For Planells, the issue is ultimately straightforward. He says he is not asking for special treatment, but for the medical care and follow-up he believes he is entitled to receive.