He calculates that 80% of the emergencies they attend to in summer are tourists. "This means that we give less quality care to those who are paying taxes to have public health. That is the problem we have. You want to cover the population, but then you have the overload in this area. There are nights when there are up to four or five ambulances, and the same thing happens with the police. Someone may be robbing you at home, but all the resources in the area are in Magalluf."
The worst hours, he says, are from one to four in the morning. Some tourists who go to Magalluf, he believes, are typically aggressive and don't show respect. They are often threatened, but he adds: "You say to a German, shut up and sit down, and he shuts up and sits down. But a Briton always wants to hit you; well, those who come here in order to get out of control."
Dr. Juan Luis Sánchez explains that there are no weekends; it's the same every day and at any time. On one particular day, his shift started at eight in the morning. Soon after, he was treating a 17-year-old who had had an epileptic seizure. "Due to his condition, he should sleep eight hours and not drink alcohol, because he shouldn't mix it with the medication. But epileptics come here, forget the pills, go out partying, do not sleep and have seizures." The 17-year-old in question had only arrived the day before.
Sánchez adds that people come to party but without any control. Those who have never taken drugs before "take them all together on the same day and it is a disaster". "It used to be that they would take some risk, now they go all out, there is no holding them. When they tell you what they have done, you put your head in your hands."
The medics are perfectly aware of the realities of Punta Ballena. Cañellas refers to "gangs of women who appear to be prostitutes and who capture potential clients, most of them very drunk or older". "They take them to an alley, beat them up and rob them."
And they highlight a different form of "excess", that of the heat. It is usually older people who are affected by the heat, but "there are also young people who go out for a run or a bike ride in the middle of the day, in the middle of a heat wave". "These are some people who simply don't take any measures to protect themselves."
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There was hope that by upgrading magaluf to more of a 4 star resort and shifting marketing to a continental European audience, perhaps it might attract a better quality of tourist. But it seems that Brits keep coming anyway, and Europeans still perceive it as a downmarket resort. Melia is no doubt frustrated. Fixing this isn't going to be so easy. Luckily, it's just a dot on the Southwest coast. If it were endemic to Mallorca, it would be a lot more alarming. Still, it's a shame, because Magaluf has so much potential.
People need to thank these crews for the good work they do. The sad thing is that people are so selfish and foolish they have too . Folk need to be responsible. This type of behaviour ‘except for the sporting ladies’ is common in most U.K. cities unfortunately. The A&E full of drunks and neds needing patching up after getting fights, scrapes, falls of scoters . It’s abuse of alcohol and lots of people make a lot of money fuelling it. As long as folk consider enjoyment is getting smashed then this will be the foreseeable future. It not just a Magaluf problem or a Majorca problem or a particularly British problem although we seem experts at it …….it’s a society problem….
Makes you proud to be British!
Blame the hotels, blame the tourist tax, blame anyone but not the young ones who gets over the top at all times. Handy isn't it?
The disgraceful actions of young Tourists in Magaluff have been endemic for decades. The Authorities responsible will not do anything about its terrible reputation. WHY because of the money they bring to Mallorca and that Urbanisation , Businesses, Hotels , Tourist Tax and Taxes in general. It is a disgrace. Always will be a place to do and act in disgusting manner.