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There’s some welcome news for anyone in Andalucía who’s been stuck waiting for surgery. The regional health service has managed to slash the backlog of overdue operations by almost 60% since launching its Health Guarantee Plan earlier this year.

 

According to Regional Health Minister Rocío Hernández, 22,940 patients were waiting beyond the guaranteed time limit at the end of June 2024, compared to more than 53,000 just six months earlier. That’s a 57% drop, and Hernández was quick to praise the steady progress being made, while also acknowledging, “We are not satisfied.”

 

The total number of people on the surgical waiting list has also gone down, by more than 20,000 patients, from 142,507 in December 2023 to 122,188 in June this year. That’s despite the fact that new patients are still being added to the list all the time. Most of the improvement has come from tackling the so-called ‘guaranteed’ procedures that had gone past their deadline, which are legally required to be done within 60, 90 or 120 days depending on the case.

 

Hernández pointed out that back in late 2023, more than 37% of patients were outside that guaranteed timeframe. Now, that figure has dropped to just under 19%, and the goal is to keep improving.

 

One of the key wins of the new system has been cutting the average waiting time for surgery. It now stands at 108 days, down from 150 at the end of last year. “These figures reflect continuous progress in waiting list management,” said Hernández.

 

Between January and June this year, a total of 223,074 operations were carried out in the public system, which is 6,336 more than in the same period last year. That works out at around 1,239 surgeries every day. Most, around 86%, were done in hospitals run by the Andalucian Health Service, with the remaining 14% handled by contracted providers.

 

There’s also been headway in reducing delays for first-time specialist consultations after a GP referral. Since January, that waiting list has shrunk by nearly 14,000 patients, with over 40,000 fewer people now stuck waiting beyond the set deadlines.

 

 

Image: Vidal Balielo Jr/Pexels