In the province of Granada, there is a 6-month waiting list to see a medical specialist for the first visit.
This information was confirmed by the Junta de Andalucía, rather than denying it. These figures come from the official statistics that were published earlier in the week.
The backlog is 178 days for your first visit to a specialist and 185 if it is arranged through your GP.*
Both these figures are worse than last year’s, which was almost two months shorter in waiting time.
Granada’s figures are the second worst within Andalucía with only Jaén having longer waiting times; 212 days on average.
In that province there are 139,916 people on waiting lists for medical specialists. That, by the way, is equivalent to 15% of the provincial population.
But there’s good news, too, in that the back log caused by the pandemic has finally disappeared.
Editorial comment: * I didn’t think that you could go straight to a specialist in the public health system.
(News/Noticias: Granada, Andalucia)
Unfortunately both myself and my wife have had to visit the medical center here in Salobrena, over recent months and had to wait two weeks for an appointment. We are still waiting for our referrals to see the specialists in Motril. Prior to covid we could get an appointment within 7-10 days and, more importantly, with the same Doctor. These days we get the Doctor who is there on the day, some who definitely don’t read your previous notes etc. The service we get is not as good as pre covid, but I suspect it is better than some get back in the UK. My only concern is what is going to happen when the new Medical Center is built – where will the extra staff come from?
I waited 17 days for an doctors appointment just for the results of a scan at the hospital. and 10 days to wait for an appointment is the norm in my village.
Importantly I’d like to know what the Junta plans to do to resolve the issue. Treatable conditions could become fatal conditions when people have to wait 6 months
Hi David
I do have a Spanish Health card and fortunately I don’t need to see a doctor.
Many of my friends are saying they are waiting much longer than 4 days
for an appointment, as did this reader, who recently left a message
in “Questions”
https://www.theseasidegazette.com/2023/11/102574/reader-a-medical-problem/
What are other readers’ experiences?
Julie
The title is ‘Long wait for Specialists’ nothing to do with Doctors appointments. Nevertheless I find that using Clic Salud I can get a Doctors appointment with 4 days, I don’t think that is bad compared with the UK. If it is an urgent appointment I need than going down to the Surgery & explaining that it is urgent then I wait until my Doctors surgery is finished & then am seen straight away. I take it that you do have a Spanish Health Card.
Julie: I think that perhaps it has to do with the Junta letting go of extra medical staff to cope with the Covid. We had shortages before the pandemic so when the pandemic finished the SAS just let them all go without filling in the preexisting vacancies. I may be mistaken but that would certainly explain it a bit.
“The backlog caused by the pandemic has finally disappeared”
Then what is the reason why people are waiting for doctor’s appointments
much, much longer than pre Covid?
Has there been a mass exodus of doctors and specialists?
Are people more sick since Covid and vaccinations
Or a combination of both?