How to reverse waiting lists
In a context of growing population pressure –in Catalonia with 8 million people, 100,000 new users are added to the medical system each year–, today in our country there are more than 200,000 people waiting for an operation, more than 200,000 awaiting a test, and more than 500,000 queuing for a first visit with a specialist. These figures, which the ARA has accessed, already speak for themselves, but to truly assess the magnitude of the issue, we must look at waiting times.
In the case of major interventions, after covid-19 a notable effort has been made, so that, of the people who need to go to the operating room, only 1,318 have been waiting for more than a year. We are, therefore, at percentages similar to those of 2019. On the other hand, what happens with diagnostic tests and specialist visits is quite more serious: Catalans wait on average 80 days for the former and 102 days for the latter, when the maximum time set is 30 days for a preferred priority case and three months for ordinary priority. Currently, the most saturated specialties are allergy, otorhinolaryngology, urology, and traumatology. The testimonies we collect in the newspaper's dossier are expressive of the medical and psychological contraindications that such long delays entail in many cases.
It is true that the Catalan system is quite transparent regarding waiting list information, which is not the case in other parts of the State, especially in Madrid, where opacity reigns. Ayuso's figures are not credible. It should be remembered that, during the pandemic, the notification of contagions and deaths related to covid already caused controversy, with Madrid again as the epicenter of the controversy. The manipulation of data continues to be the order of the day: it is a mockery and a lack of respect for the sick.
Therefore, the fact that Catalonia is the most exhaustive community in accounting for its patient care deficits has more to do with a notable lack of transparency from others than with factual reality: whoever declares more may seem to be the one who functions worst. All indications are that this is not the case. The suspicion is that the counting in some communities leaves much to be desired. But invoking "what about you?" is not at all comforting.
Be that as it may, the situation must be remedied. What is the solution to this entrenched problem? As is quite evident, and considering the recurrent complaint of professionals, the way forward in large part involves an increase in human and economic resources. The Metges de Catalunya union has long warned of the lack of professionals in the system. The need to strengthen primary care and, in parallel, the coordination between CAPs and hospitals is also evident. We are, overall, facing a healthcare system that is under strain due to demand and that, therefore, has long required a transformation that has not yet arrived.
What is needed, then, is to get to work to strengthen the system and reverse the waiting times. And not only to respond medically to citizens as we should, but also to guarantee the prestige of Catalan public healthcare, which is currently beginning to falter.