Health Department appoints nine permanent ophthalmologists for hard-to-fill positions in Alicante

The Department of Health has agreed to the appointment as permanent statutory staff, specifying the chosen destination, of nine specialist physicians in Ophthalmology in positions declared as difficult to fill within the Valencian Health System. The decision is formalized in the Resolution of September 24, 2026, from the General Directorate of Personnel, published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) No. 10464, of October 2, 2026 (official reference DOGV-C-2026-30443). The assignment of the destination shall be definitive.

The resolution is issued under clause 15 of the call for the merit competition for the provision of statutory staff positions with a specialist degree in health sciences declared as difficult to fill, published in the DOGV 10251, of December 1, 2025. Previously, the Resolution of August 5, 2026, from the General Directorate of Personnel, published the provisional allocation of positions and opened the period for submitting allegations or waivers prior to the appointment. The authority is exercised by the Director General of Personnel, María Amparo Pinazo Gamir, in accordance with Article 18 of Decree 22/2025, of February 11, of the Consell, which approves the Organic and Functional Regulations of the Department of Health.

Nine appointments and two waivers

Annex I of the resolution lists the appointed persons, all via the open track, along with their department and destination center:

• María Caridad Martínez Hergueta, Beatriz Félix Espinar, and Lucía Ramos González, in the Elda Health Department.
• Laura María López Soriano, Ana Pastor Grau, and María de las Nieves Bascuñana Mas, in the Orihuela Health Department.
• Carolina Medina Martín, in the Torrevieja Health Department.
• Listed in the reserve status are Nadia Cindy Montalt Barrachina and Alfredo Marchena Rojas, both assigned to the Elda Health Department.

Annex II records the exclusion of two applicants due to waiver: Raquel Gutiérrez Ezquerro and Noelia Soledad López Grau, who held positions 8 and 9 in the process. The resolution accepts the received waivers outright and declares the loss of any right derived from participation in the selection process.

Destinations: Elda, Orihuela, and Torrevieja

The destinations are concentrated in three health departments in the province of Alicante, with the following centers:

• Elda General University Hospital - Virgen de la Salud and its specialties center, assigned to the Elda Health Department (center code H1215).
• Vega Baja Hospital of Orihuela and its specialties center, assigned to the Orihuela Health Department (code H1223).
• Torrevieja University Hospital, assigned to the Torrevieja Health Department (code H2526).

In centers with several offered vacancies, these will be filled as the appointed individuals join, respecting the order established by the termination criteria of the fourth additional provision of Decree 192/2017, of December 1, of the Consell, which approves the Regulations for the selection and provision of statutory personnel in the service of public health institutions of the Valencian Health System.

Deadlines for taking possession and appeals

The period for taking possession shall be one month and will begin on October 15, 2026. Anyone who does not join the assigned center within that period will lose the rights derived from their participation in the selection process, following a hearing and by means of a reasoned resolution, except in cases of force majeure assessed by the competent personnel body.

Appointed individuals must provide the original documentation of the alleged requirements and, where applicable, the official disability certificate at the time of taking possession. They must also present a negative certificate from the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders, in accordance with Article 57.1 of Organic Law 8/2021, of June 4.

Once they have acquired the status of permanent statutory personnel, they may participate in transfer competitions or internal promotion systems when they prove three years of permanence in active service at the assigned center; periods of leave interrupt this count, and service commissions will not be processed until at least three years have passed since taking possession. Against the resolution, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months from the day following its publication.

The publication closes the filling of nine specialist positions in Ophthalmology declared as difficult to fill, a category in which the lack of staff necessitates resorting to specific merit-based competition calls. The effective incorporation of the new physicians to the hospitals of Elda, Orihuela, and Torrevieja starting October 15 will determine the ophthalmological care capacity of these departments and the reinforcement of their specialized care staff.

Source: Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV), no. 10464, of October 2, 2026, section II. Authorities and Personnel, B) Appointments and terminations (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-30443).