Zach Crawford
(ANSA) – MADRID, November 5 – Wait times of a year or more for a specialist visit and general practitioners are mired in endless agendas of appointments with patients. These are some of the situations that have been tested in the field of public health in some regions of Spain after the impact of the Covid epidemic, highlighted by the Iberian media after accessing the register of people waiting to be visited by the Community of Madrid. Specialist doctor: 500,366 according to data published by the regional administration, which refers to the month of September.
As El País tells us, this is a situation that has become particularly critical after public health in Madrid has had to deal with the coronavirus first and foremost for several months, but it actually shows the problems and delays that have already been there for years.
In Madrid, the Popular Party, the center-right formation that has consistently ruled the region for more than 25 years, received accusations of wanting to favor private health over public health. The regional executive defends itself, for example, by claiming that it provided in the 2022 budget law, under discussion, “more than 65 million euros” to reduce waiting lists in hospitals. According to El País, the total number reserved for the health sector this year is lower than the figure spent in this area in 2019 (ANSA).
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Laurence Malcom
