2023-09-20 15:43:14
71.6% of Spaniards prefer a public health center for consultations with family doctors and pediatricians and, given the choice, only 26.1% would opt for private healthcare, according to the second wave of the 2023 health barometer published this Wednesday by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS).
Facade of the Gregorio Marañón public hospital in Madrid. EFE/Juanjo Martín
In the case of consultations with specialists, Spaniards also opt for public health, although the difference is smaller. 58.2% would continue to choose public healthcare compared to 39.1%, claiming that they would make that decision “because of the speed with which they are served.”
More data. According to the barometer, 29.7% of Spaniards perceive that waiting lists are getting worse, although this percentage improves ten points compared to the February barometer, when it was 39.2%. For 44.8% of those surveyed, the problem of waiting lists remains the same and 13.8% perceive an improvement.
Spaniards and public health: 24% suffer delays of more than 11 days to the family doctor
The CIS survey also reveals that the delays for a consultation with the family doctor exceed eleven days in the case of 24.3% of patients, and are eight to eleven days for 11% of those who have requested this type of consultation in the last twelve months.
Another 19% have made an appointment at the health center within a week and a symbolic 0.1% have made it on the same day. Between two and three days of waiting is 25 percent.
Despite these waits, 83% of Spaniards rate the care received as “good or very good”, 12.9% rate it as “fair” and a minority 4% rate it as “bad or very bad”.
The majority of those surveyed affirm that when they have had “a real health problem due to symptoms or diseases already diagnosed” they have been able to consult, although 11.5% acknowledge that they were able to do so, which is why, in general, they chose to go to the emergency room.
Emergencies, 061 and 112, the most valued services
Emergencies 061 and 112 are the public health services best rated by patients, with a 7.5 out of 10. They are followed by admissions and assistance in public hospitals, which also obtain a notable score (7.3).
These two services repeat as the best valued compared to the February health barometer.
On the other hand, specialized care consultations are the ones with the lowest score (6.1), possibly due to the delays in getting an appointment.
Delays of one to more than three months for the specialist
55% of those surveyed have attended a specialist consultation in the last twelve months. 41% of these patients admit a delay of more than three months to access the consultation, 36.9% set that waiting time between 30 and 90 days while 20.6 percent achieved the consultation within the period of one month.
The majority of patients satisfactorily value the time that the doctor has dedicated to them in consultation, the information received and the trust transmitted.
In fact, for 82%, the care received was “good or very good” and only 11.1% described it as “regular” and 4% as “bad or very bad.”
Spaniards and public health: eight out of 10 citizens believe that the system needs changes
This second wave, carried out on a sample of 2,600 interviews, also reveals that for 46.3% of those surveyed the health system “works well, but some changes are necessary”, while 27.4% think that “it needs changes”. fundamentals” and 11.8% opt for “profound changes”.
The opinion of those who believe that the public health system works “quite well” improves slightly, 13.8%, two points more than in the barometer of the first wave, in February, when it was 11.8 percent.
Nurses, the best rated
Among the respondents who have been hospitalized in the last twelve months, the nursing staff is the best rated with 8.5 points out of 10.
Equipment and technological means are also one of the aspects best rated by patients, with a notable high in this study of the CIS.
Regarding telephone appointments, 64.7% believe that some consultations can be made by phone and others should be in person, while 32% always opt for in-person appointments.
Magazine covers recognizing the work of nursing in the fight against COVID-19/Diario Enfermero
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