Cancer Patient Dies After Years of Alleged Neglect at Melilla Hospital

The young man passed away just a few hours after being admitted and undergoing tests at the Granada hospital. "The professionals we met in Granada were human and immediately subjected him to various tests. The diagnosis was clear and they gathered his loved ones to tell them to prepare for the worst," a relative of the victim told El Faro de Melilla.

Despite his illness, Abdel clung to life. The 25-year-old man got married on December 8th, before his health completely deteriorated. "Don’t let me die, mom," he begged. The lack of specialist doctors and adequate technical facilities in Melilla, as well as the delay in his evacuation to the peninsula, have undoubtedly led to the death of this young man who was suffering from terminal cancer, diagnosed four years ago.

His parents took him to Castellón where he was taken care of and responded well to the treatment. "He even gained 10 kilos," the relative recounts. But back in Melilla, he relapsed and was admitted to the hospital in the autonomous city where he was not examined by any oncologist for ten days. "The doctors in Melilla were miserable, animals and criminals. At no time did they confirm to us that his case was hopeless... They abandoned him to his fate, they let him die."

The competent judicial authorities have taken up the case. An expert report states presumed negligence on the part of the Melilla hospital. Responsibilities will be determined, assured Juan José Imbroda, the president of Melilla, in a message on X, addressing the Minister of Health, Mónica García. The Muslim community in the autonomous city, for its part, seized this sad occasion to demand an improvement in the health system in Melilla.

In a statement, the community denounces "a negligent and inhumane treatment of the most vulnerable patients", noting that the death of the young Abdel "highlights the serious shortcomings of the health system in Melilla, particularly in oncology and palliative care, due to the lack of specialists and adequate resources". This situation is "unacceptable", insists the community, calling for the opening of the new hospital and the strengthening of oncology and palliative care services.