Patients have had to wait an average of nine days to see a family doctor over the past year

In Spain, the average waiting time to see a doctor or family doctor was nine days last year, and every fourth patient had to wait more than 11 days. This is confirmed by the first health barometer, which was published this Thursday by the Sociological Center. A survey (CIS) that analyzes opinions about the public health system and was conducted from 18 to 25 March. There will be two more waves.

Despite the long delays in primary health care, the survey shows Spaniards are very satisfied with public health. Respondents say they received “good or very good care” in 80% of cases at health centers and in emergency situations. The percentage in the case of hospitals reaches more than 90%. The most valued services are 061 and 112 emergencies with 7.54. There are specialists in the opposite extreme, though the note is more than a pass, 6.27.

However, most will make changes to the system. Only 16% think it works “pretty well”, almost the same percentage as those who think it goes “badly” (11%). Almost half of the respondents have something to do with it: they admit that the operation is good, but “some changes are needed.”

Advantages for the community

Although private insurance has the highest growth in ten years in 2021 and already has more than 11 million joint members in Spain, the first health barometer since the pandemic shows the majority advantage over public health. Three out of four would receive a public hospital admission, with 73% opting for public hospital emergency care and 68% for family medicine and pediatrics. The percentage is more balanced in the case of specialists: only more than half of the respondents would choose public roads “if they could make a choice”, according to a survey question.

Misconceptions about waiting lists

Perception of the expectation status of surgeries, specialists, and tests is poor. More than 40% of the population think that the problem has worsened, while 33% – it remains the same. According to the latest national data, for June 2021, the average expectation of an operation was the same as in December 2019 (121 days), slightly less than the 171 registered in the second half of 2020. The delay in attending the specialist also seems to be reduced compared to the hardest years of the pandemic, when hospitals were full of people with severe pneumonia of SARS-CoV-2 and forced to stop surgeries, tests and specialized consultations.

The responses also reveal how the coronavirus has changed the way patients are cared for. 76% of the population have had a telephone meeting with a doctor in the last 12 months, although half say it is impossible to explain it, as well as face to face, while a third think that all consultations should be face to face. However, more than half would use a video call to contact a doctor if they were offered one.