One third of emergency responses in Ibiza are callouts to nightclubs, union says

One third of emergency responses in Ibiza are callouts to clubs, which unions claim is pushing the island's ambulance services to "breaking point".

According to elDiario.es, Ibiza’s emergency services are currently stretched thin due to a lack of vehicle maintenance, with some ambulances lacking air conditioning in temperatures of up to 47°C. They claim that the only thing keeping the service alive is the will of the workforce, who are also at their “wits-end”.

The union which currently represents Ibiza's ambulance workers, the Works Council of the Union of Healthcare Technicians (USAE), has said that a large percentage of callouts are made to nightclubs across the island — often due to recreational drug use.

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Despite this, clubs on the island – with exception for DC-10 – currently use public ambulance services: “It's inconceivable that companies that earn billions of Euros a year can't afford this service and overwhelm emergency services, José Manuel Maroto, President of the USAE, told elDiario.es.

Maroto added that he believes the pressure on services could "deprive citizens" of emergency care: “We all pay for ambulances from these companies that make billions. It's unaffordable.”

Five out of fifteen ambulance callouts are to nightclubs in Ibiza, the union claims, and with the complicated nature of many incidents these situations are said to be harder to deal with: “On many occasions, we have to immobilise those being treated because their condition is complicated. We have to endure assaults and very dangerous situations,” Maroto says.

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In 2023, Ibiza saw a record number of tourists with more than 3,000,000 heading to the island – 10% more than 2022. Diario de Ibiza reported that UK tourists made up the predominant tourism market in Ibiza that year, while European Psychiatry revealed that 36.2% of drug fatalities on the island between 2010 and 2016 were British citizens.

“Serving nightclub tourists saturates the service and harms other emergency services on the island, which have to endure ambulance delays,” Maroto said. “The situation is entrenched – instead of moving forward, we are moving backward.”

[Via: elDiario.es]

Finn Cliff Hodges is a freelance journalist, follow him on Instagram