Waiting lists continue to grow in the Spanish public health system. 849,535 patients were waiting for surgery in December 2023, 7.1% more than a year earlier, according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Health, which provides figures twice a year. This number has been steadily increasing since June 2021.
The average time between the time the doctor decides to perform the procedure and the time it takes place has also increased by eight days – it is now 128 – and, above all, the proportion of those who suffer from very long delays has increased. Almost one in four patients (24.4%) have to wait more than six months to undergo surgery. Six months earlier, this percentage was 17.4%.
These are record figures that hit like a bucket of cold water the Government, which had committed during the legislature to limit waiting times to 60 days for a specialist and 120 days for an operation. Never have so many people been expected for a surgical operation to resolve a health problem since there are files and it is urgent that the administrations make an “effective diagnosis”, announced the Minister of Health a little over a week ago.
Mónica García then announced that she was launching a working group after reaching an agreement with the autonomous communities to “know how long the patient waits, what he is waiting for and what priorities he should have.” The head of Health considers that the 2003 legislation that guarantees transparency and approval of lists in all the communities of Spain is “obsolete.”
By specialties, the patients with the longest waiting time in the operating room are those in plastic surgery (239 days), neurosurgery (213 days) and traumatology (149 days). Cardiac surgery (73 days), dermatology (75 days) and ophthalmology (90) record the best waiting data.
Health monitors some specific procedures. Among them, coronary surgery has the shortest wait time (53 days) and knee replacement has the longest wait time (147 days). The most common procedure is cataract surgery and its average waiting time is 78 days.
More than 100 days to see the specialist
Waiting times to attend an outpatient consultation with a dermatologist or cardiologist are less visible in the media. Not all of them trigger surgery, but they are essential for the detection and treatment of diseases. In December 2023, 81.47 out of 1,000 people in Spain were waiting to see a specialist, a figure slightly lower than a year ago. That is, 8.1% of the population.
However, the average waiting time for a first consultation already exceeds 100 days: there were 101, according to the latest report, i.e. six more than in December 2022. This figure is far from the Government’s commitment to limit this period to 60 days maximum.
In fact, waiting more than two months to see a specialist has become the norm, as it affects more than half of people. 56.3% have to wait more than 60 days. Neurology, dermatology and traumatology are the specialties with the longest waits: they have 130, 124 and 108 days on average respectively. On the other hand, we find General Surgery, which does better with 57 days, and Gynecology, with 72 days.
The Health data details the situation of each autonomous community. The measure must be homogeneous so that its figures are comparable, although experts warn every year about the “composition” of the lists. This is the case, for example, of Andalusia, which went a year and a half without publishing its figures. When they were discovered, it emerged that 10,000 Andalusians had exceeded the maximum period set by regional law to be purged.
According to the latest update, this community leads in the number of patients waiting, although it does not have the worst rate per 1,000 inhabitants. Extremadura, Cantabria and La Rioja occupy the worst positions. In average time until intervention, the community of Extremadura beats the record (181 days), followed by Andalusia (174) and Cantabria (173).
Graphics by Victòria Oliveres.
