After an operation for a bunion in 2023, Rosario says screws and a titanium plate left her foot worse rather than better. The Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS) confirmed that she is scheduled for corrective surgery at the Hospital Regional in Málaga on 19 November 2026. The new date was reported on 13 November, replacing an earlier estimate that the operation might not take place until September 2027.
The date follows a long delay. Her second procedure had been scheduled for 2 June 2025, but it did not take place, leaving her waiting about 16 months for a replacement appointment. Rosario said her condition worsened in the following months without her receiving notice of a new operation date. When she returned to a consultation in January 2026, the doctor classified the surgery as preferential because of her continuing pain. By September, she was using a crutch and needed her husband’s help to get around. She described her walking as increasingly difficult.
Her husband, Miguel Ángel, went to the Hospital Regional in September to seek an update and repeatedly contacted the hospital for information. He was told that the likely date for the operation was September 2027, according to Rosario’s account. The November appointment supersedes that earlier estimate.
A complaint submitted over the summer prompted a written response from the Hospital Regional’s Citizen Services department. In a letter signed by its head, the administration apologised and said the principal reason for surgical delays was limited operating-room availability. It said staff were trying to optimise available resources and operate on as many patients as capacity allowed, while following waiting-list seniority. The SAS also said public hospitals continued surgical activity during the summer, with plans for activity in up to 32 operating theatres during afternoon hours.
National waiting-list figures cited by Telecinco in November put the number of people awaiting surgery in Spain at 853,740 at the end of 2025, with an average wait of 122 days. The reported average in Andalucía was 173 days, compared with 50 days in Madrid. The hospital’s letter did not give a timetable for reducing waits. A separate report covered a proton therapy project in San Sebastián, a distinct healthcare development.
Rosario has described pain in her foot and said she is concerned that her leg appears to be turning from the knee down. She also reported problems with her spine and arthritis, and said her husband now accompanies her because she cannot manage alone. In comments reported by Málaga Hoy, she said she was walking very badly and her condition was worsening.
She attributes the damage to the first operation and says a specialist unit at the CARE told her the bunion should have been removed without screws. She also said she paid for a year of rehabilitation herself. Her stated aim for the next procedure is to have the titanium plate removed.
