Latest news with #JoséManuelMaroto
Fox News
22-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Overdosing tourists in vacation hotspot are straining local health system
The popular Spanish island of Ibiza has had a longstanding reputation as a party hotspot for tourists — but those partying too hard are straining local health resources. A quarter of the ambulance emergencies are linked to large leisure centers, Spanish publication reported. The Works Council of the Union of Healthcare Technicians (WCUHT) told the outlet most of the calls are due to drugs or alcohol incidents at clubs involving foreign tourists — leaving ambulance technicians strained. "The situation is entrenched because the population increases, leisure centers increase, and instead of moving forward we go backward," said union president José Manuel Maroto. In 2024, about 3.28 million people visited Ibiza, while there were 3.38 visitors the year prior, according to the Ibiza Preservation. "Serving tourists from nightclubs saturates the service and harms other emergencies on the island, which have to endure delays in ambulances," said Maroto. A European Psychiatry study published by Cambridge University Press analyzed drug-related fatalities in Ibiza from 2010 to 2016. The study found that MDMA and cocaine were the most commonly used substances, with the number of fatalities per year "steadily increasing." Party promoter Wayne Anthony told Sky News last year he does not think the drug problem in Ibiza will be stopped. "When you have these movements that are driven by music, that are driven by art, that are driven by fashion and drugs are a part of it, whatever you put up, whatever boundaries, whatever laws, I don't think you're going to be able to stop it," said Wayne. He arrived on the island in 1988, noting that "what Ibiza represented was this beautiful, hot island, which was visually stunning and we knew you could party there quite legally." The Center for Public Health researchers at Liverpool John Moores University published a 2014 study on the behavior of young British tourists between the ages of 16 and 35. Of those surveyed, 85.3% reported using illicit drugs — while 54.1% smoked tobacco. The WCUHT is calling for clubs to work with their own private ambulance services. "Clubs are obliged to have a health service with nurses and even emergency technicians, but they are not forced to hire an ambulance service, and this ends up becoming a public system," said Maroto. He added, "We all pay for ambulances to these companies that make billions. It is unaffordable."
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Club Drugs Strain Health System on Ibiza, Spain's Party Island
The emergency calls arrive at all hours, especially in the summer. Pablo Roig weaves his ambulance through heavy traffic and past crowded beaches. He arrives at an increasingly familiar scene on Ibiza, Spain's famed party island: drug-related distress at a nightclub. 'There are days when we're so busy you can barely even stop to eat or have a coffee,' Mr. Roig, a 47-year-old ambulance technician, said. Emergency calls involving partygoers at Ibiza nightclubs have become so frequent that the island's public ambulance service is at risk of collapse, the local health technicians union said. During peak season, more than a quarter of all calls for ambulances are to nightclubs, and they often involve foreign visitors, straining resources for the island's 160,000 full-time residents, the union said. 'Sometimes we go to the same nightclub three or four times in one night,' said José Manuel Maroto, a representative for the union. 'There are nightclubs where we have to go to pick up an intoxicated patient every day.' The ambulance crisis in Ibiza, one of the engines of Spain's tourism industry with around 3.3 million visitors last year, is the latest example of tensions in Europe over foreign travelers as summer crowds peak. Anti-tourism protests have erupted recently in Spain, Italy and Portugal, with demonstrators complaining that overtourism is stretching public resources and driving up the cost of living. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Urgent Spain warning for Brits as boozy tourists push locals 'to the brink'
The president of the local health services union, José Manuel Maroto, told that club owners must start forking out for private ambulances to help ease the burden on the service Services have been pushed to the brink in Ibiza due to partying holidaymakers. The ambulance service on the Spanish island is facing collapse, a union has warned, due to the huge number of clubbers falling ill after taking drugs. A third of all call-outs the ambulance service makes are to clubs, some of which can hold as many as 10,000 ravers. It is the latest strain on the Balearic island, which attracts around 3.4 million tourists a year—many times more than its 160,000 permanent residents. The president of the local health services union, José Manuel Maroto, told that club owners must start forking out for private ambulances to help ease the burden on the service. 'It's inconceivable that businesses with an income of millions of euros a year can't provide this service, which is saturating the emergency services at the expense of the local population,' he said. Do you have experience of this side of clubbing in Ibiza? Email webtravel@ 'The clubs are obliged to employ nurses and other health workers, but not ambulances—the cost of which is borne by public services.' According to Maroto, only one major club, DC-10, uses a private service. Although the dealing of recreational drugs such as MDMA is illegal on Ibiza, as it is in the rest of Spain, many dealers operate on the island. The high cost of drinks in many of the superclubs means taking illicit substances is often cheaper. The Hollywood star Will Smith was at the inauguration last month of UNVRS, the island's biggest club, where the cheapest entry is €100 (£86) and drinks can cost €25. A study by the local paper El Diario de Ibiza showed that the island is the third most expensive destination in the Mediterranean after Saint-Tropez and Capri. 'Sadly or not, drugs are the cheaper option. Not trying to vouch for them, just saying. Drinks are crazy expensive—a vodka soda should be around €22–25, but even a beer is €16–18. Club entry is €50–100,' one Reddit user recently wrote on a forum about the costs of clubbing in Ibiza. Unlike in the UK, where venues that serve alcohol are legally obliged to provide free water to customers, clubs in Ibiza make a huge amount of money from selling it bottled and canned to dehydrated drug takers. According to one person on Ibiza Spotlight, they were charged €13 for a 330ml can of water in the superclub Pacha. Data on the number of recent drug deaths in Ibiza is hard to come by. However, a 2017 study in European Psychiatry found that 58 drug-related fatalities were recorded in Ibiza from 2010 to 2016. Of those, 87% were men, while more than a third were Brits—by far the biggest single group.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Ibiza's ambulance service risks collapse due to callouts to clubs, says union
The ambulance service on the Spanish island of Ibiza says it is at risk of collapse because of frequent callouts to attend to clubbers having bad experiences with recreational drugs. The local ambulance union says up to a third of emergency calls are to clubs, the largest of which has a capacity of as many as 10,000 partygoers, and are largely drug-related. It is calling on club owners to contract private ambulance services. 'It's inconceivable that businesses with an income of millions of euros a year can't provide this service which is saturating the emergency services at the expense of the local population,' the president of the local health services union, José Manuel Maroto, told 'The clubs are obliged to employ nurses and other health workers but not ambulances, the cost if which is borne by public services,' he said, adding that it was unjust that the island's 161,000 residents should receive an inferior service because of the demands of 3.6 million annual visitors. According to Maroto, only one major club, DC-10, uses a private service. The island, part of the hippy trail in the 1970s, has been a mecca for clubbers since the early 1980s. The pioneering clubs were Amnesia and Pacha, but dozens have sprung up since, making the dance scene – and the drugs that fuel it – a major part of Ibiza's tourism industry. The Hollywood star Will Smith was at the inauguration last month of UNVRS, the island's biggest club, where the cheapest entry is €100 (£86) and a drink can cost €25. According to the regional government, tourists to the island spend €1.5 of every €10 on the dancefloor, but many clubbers complain the scene is now all about money and big-name DJs who command enormous appearance fees. A study by the local paper El Diario de Ibiza found that the island is the third most expensive destination in the Mediterranean after Saint-Tropez and Capri. Much of the money goes to a company founded by the former footballer and politician Abel Matutes. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The Matutes family, the most powerful on Ibiza, as well as owning numerous hotels in Spain, Mexico and the US, owns three of the island's biggest party venues, Ushuaïa, Hï Ibiza and UNVRS. Drugs are a major part of the informal economy and large busts are common. More than a million MDMA doses were recovered in a single raid last year. A study published in European Psychiatry found that there were 58 drug-related deaths on Ibiza between 2010 and 2016 with the largest proportion (36%) being young Britons.
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Ibiza's ambulance service risks collapse due to callouts to clubs, says union
The ambulance service on the Spanish island of Ibiza says it is at risk of collapse because of frequent callouts to attend to clubbers having bad experiences with recreational drugs. The local ambulance union says up to a third of emergency calls are to clubs, the largest of which has a capacity of up to 10,000 partygoers, and are largely drug-related. It is calling on club owners to contract private ambulance services. 'It's inconceivable that businesses with an income of millions of euros a year can't provide this service which is saturating the emergency services at the expense of the local population,' José Manuel Maroto, president of the local health services union, told 'The clubs are obliged to employ nurses and other health workers but not ambulances, the cost if which is borne by public services,' Maroto said, adding that was unjust that the island's 161,000 residents should receive an inferior service due to the demands of the 3.6 million annual visitors. According to Maroto, only one major club, DC-10, uses a private service. The island, part of the hippy trail in the 1970s, has been a mecca for clubbers since the early 1980s. The pioneering clubs were Amnesia and Pacha but dozens have sprung up since, making the dance scene – and the drugs that fuel it – a major part of Ibiza's tourism industry. Last month the Hollywood star Will Smith was at the inauguration of UNVRS, the island's biggest club, where the cheapest entry is €100 (£86) and a drink cancost €25. According to the regional government, tourists to the island spend €1.5 of every €10 on the dancefloor, but many clubbers complain the scene is now all about money and big-name DJs who command enormous appearance fees. A study by the local paper El Diario de Ibiza found that the island is the third most expensive destination in the Mediterranean, after Saint-Tropez and Capri. Much of this money goes to a company founded by the former footballer Abel Matutes. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The Matutes family, the most powerful on Ibiza, as well as owning numerous hotels in Spain, Mexico and the US, owns three of the island's biggest party venues, Ushuaïa, Hï Ibiza and now UNVRS. Drugs are a major part of the informal economy and large drug busts are common, with over a million MDMA doses recovered in a single raid last year. A study published in European Psychiatry found that there were 58 drug-related deaths on Ibiza between 2010 and 2016 with the largest proportion (36%) being young Britons.
