The Endocrinology and Nutrition Department at Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital in Arrecife has significantly expanded over the past three years, responding to rising demand for specialist care for diabetes, obesity, and other endocrine and metabolic disorders.
The department has increased its medical team from four to six endocrinologists since 2022. It has also strengthened its nursing staff with a third diabetes education nurse and four healthcare assistants, allowing it to broaden the range of specialist services available to patients.
Consultations Increase by Nearly 20%
The department carried out 9,087 medical consultations in 2025, compared with 7,607 in 2022 – an increase of almost 20%. Initial appointments saw the sharpest rise, increasing by more than 46%, reflecting improved capacity to assess new patients and reduce delays in accessing specialist care.
Nursing consultations also continued to grow, rising from 2,852 in 2022 to 2,971 in 2025, highlighting the increasingly important role of specialist nurses in the long-term management of endocrine conditions.
Expanded Diabetes Support
The hospital’s three diabetes education nurses provide personalised support for patients living with diabetes. Their work includes training patients to use insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring systems, fitting and monitoring these devices, and delivering educational workshops designed to encourage healthy lifestyles and help patients manage their condition more independently.
New Specialist Clinics
The expanded workforce has enabled the hospital to introduce several new specialist clinics.
A dedicated thyroid nodule clinic has been established to speed up diagnosis and follow-up appointments while helping reduce waiting times.
The department has also introduced an Obesity and Nutrition clinic for patients with complex nutritional needs. This service supports people preparing for or recovering from bariatric surgery, patients with neurodegenerative diseases, and those with oesophageal, stomach, or pancreatic cancers who require specialist nutritional care.
Focus on Hospital Nutrition
Beyond outpatient services, the Endocrinology team also operates a nutritional screening programme for hospital inpatients. The initiative aims to identify malnutrition or patients at nutritional risk early during their hospital stay, allowing timely intervention to improve recovery and reduce complications.
Head of the department, Dr Elena Jerez, said that expanding the team has enabled the service to provide more specialised, multidisciplinary care, particularly for patients with complex conditions, while significantly strengthening diabetes education to help prevent long-term complications.
Pablo Eguía, manager of Lanzarote Health Services, praised the department’s development, saying its growth reflects the commitment of healthcare professionals to delivering increasingly specialised, effective care that better meets patients’ needs while improving coordination across the health service.
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