The Cabildo de Tenerife and the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) are putting more than €12 million into expanding diagnostic services on the island, with the aim of carrying out more MRI scans and ultrasound tests and reducing waiting times for patients.
The investment will be delivered through two agreements with IMETISA, the public medical company owned by the Cabildo. Around €9.8 million will go towards increasing MRI capacity, while a further €2.3 million will be used to expand ultrasound services.
The agreements are expected to allow around 20,000 diagnostic imaging studies a year to be carried out through IMETISA, helping patients referred from Tenerife’s main public hospitals.
More MRI scans available
The MRI agreement is worth €9,818,480 and covers the period from 2026 to 2030. It is based on carrying out around 11,000 MRI examinations each year for patients referred by the SCS.
IMETISA already provides MRI services within the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias, making it easier to deal with patients who need scans as part of their treatment.
The new arrangement will extend this support to patients referred from both of Tenerife’s main public hospitals, as well as patients from the other Canary Islands who are sent to Tenerife for specialist treatment.
The service will operate from 8am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday, with systems allowing images to be transferred electronically to the relevant SCS centres.
A new high-end ultrasound scanner
The second agreement provides €2,364,800 between 2026 and 2030 and is expected to deliver around 9,000 ultrasound examinations a year.
A new high-end ultrasound scanner will be installed to increase capacity and help deal with demand for these examinations.
IMETISA will also provide the specialist staff needed to operate the service, including doctors trained in diagnostic ultrasound, nursing staff, technical healthcare support and administrative personnel.
The service will be based at IMETISA’s existing facilities around the HUC, although other SCS locations could also be used if demand requires it.
Aimed at reducing waiting times
The whole point of the investment is fairly simple: more capacity means more patients can be seen.
SCS director Adasat Goya said the agreements will help strengthen public diagnostic services and reduce waiting lists and waiting times.
Cabildo president Rosa Dávila also highlighted the role the island’s public resources can play in supporting the healthcare system, saying the aim is to use the facilities, staff and technology already available to help people get their tests done sooner.
The hospitals in Tenerife carried out more than 105,000 ultrasound examinations and 23,700 MRI scans during 2025, giving some idea of the demand these services are dealing with.
For patients waiting for an important scan, getting more machines and specialist staff working is probably more useful than another glossy strategy document. Hopefully, this investment translates into exactly that.