SEVILLE, June 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs of the Government of Andalusia, Catalina García, announced this Tuesday that the number of patients pending an operation in the Andalusian health system outside the guaranteed deadlines has been reduced by 15.4 percent with updated data. this month of June and regarding the end of 2023.
This was highlighted by the counselor at the press conference following the weekly meeting of the Andalusian Government Council, in which she appeared alongside the Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy and spokesperson for the Executive, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, after that the Executive has become aware of a new report from its department on the progress of the Health Guarantee Plan that is being carried out through the Andalusian Health Service (SAS).
The objective of this initiative, launched last February, is to reduce by the end of the year by 60% the number of patients waiting for surgery outside the deadlines established in the guarantee decree, and by 18% of the total number of patients on the waiting list for a surgical intervention through a reorganization of ordinary activity and the promotion of extraordinary activity, as highlighted in the reference from the Governing Council.
At the same time, the president of the Board, Juanma Moreno, has advanced some of this data from his account on the social network ‘X’, from the premise that “the Health Guarantee Plan works”, as he has celebrated, and then highlights that So far this year 2024, 185,000 Andalusians have been operated on, 10% more than in 2023.
For her part, Catalina García began her speech at the press conference after the Government Council by pointing out that the Board had preferred to “wait” to update the data on the waiting lists “just after” the elections were held. European elections this past Sunday, June 9, “to not use” the press conference room of the San Telmo Palace “for something that should not be used” during the electoral campaign. In this way, she has denied that the data was not updated before the elections because it was not positive.
“POSITIVE” DATA
Along these lines, the counselor has highlighted that the data is “positive”, and has thus detailed that, while in December 2023 there were 53,014 patients pending an operation outside the guaranteed deadlines, as of this past Monday, 10 June, there were 44,851, which is 8,163 fewer patients.
Furthermore, he highlighted that this has implied, in turn, a reduction in the average delay for these late processes, going from 150 days in December to 141 today, which means 6% less.
Likewise, the counselor has detailed that the total number of pending patients with guarantee has been reduced by one and a half points, from the 142,507 that were counted in December to the 140,516 currently, 1,991 less, and all this despite more patients entering. on a waiting list than last year, as highlighted by the Board.
WAITING FOR EXTERNAL CONSULTATIONS
On the other hand, as Catalina García continued to detail, as of this past Monday, June 10, the waiting list for a first appointment in outpatient clinics with a delay of more than 60 days was 443,755 Andalusians instead of 486,562. December 2023, after a decrease of 42,807 patients (-8.80%).
Likewise, the waiting days have decreased, going from 143 in December 2023 to 134 currently, as also indicated by the Ministry headed by Catalina García.
SURGICAL ACTIVITY
In line with these data, the Government Council has also been informed of the figures on surgical interventions carried out in 2024. Thus, between the months of January to May of this year, a total of 184,866 Andalusians have been operated on – in guaranteed processes and not guaranteed–, which means 17,780 more than in the same period of 2023, when 167,086 were registered, 10.64% more.
Regarding guaranteed procedures, the count of surgeries was 132,005, which is 16,126 more than in 2023 (+13.9%), when 115,879 operations were performed.
Along these lines, the Board has highlighted the “383.2% growth in extraordinary activity”, going from 2,790 operations in 2023 to 13,481 in 2024.
On the other hand, if the period from January to April 2024 is compared with the same range in 2018, 19,363 more guaranteed procedure operations have been carried out, which represents an increase of 23.16%, with an increase in extraordinary activity of 1,083.20%, which is 9,218 more interventions on guaranteed procedures, according to the data provided by the Board.
In the case of external consultations, 945,929 more consultations have been carried out in the period January-April 2024 compared to the same period in 2018, which represents an increase of 21.28% between so far in 2024 and the same period of 2018, according to the same data provided by the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, which, as well as the Andalusian Health Service (SAS), wanted to thank “the commitment and effort of the professionals of the public health system of Andalusia, who have made possible this reduction in waiting lists and the increase in ordinary and, above all, extraordinary activity.
IN A CONTEXT OF “DEFICIT OF FACULTY”
The counselor has also stressed that this reduction in lists and waiting times is occurring “in an extremely complex context” of “a shortage of physicians” that occurs “not only at the level of the Andalusian public health system, but at the national level.” and in this regard he has highlighted that “there are autonomous communities where there is talk of centers that will have to be closed in the summer” due to this lack of professionals.
In this regard, the counselor has indicated that they are “waiting for the response from the Minister of Health”, Mónica García, regarding this “deficit of professionals” that also exists “in the National Health System”, and in this regard she has recalled that in the past An extraordinary meeting of the Interterritorial Health Council was held on Thursday with that issue precisely as “the only item on the agenda”, and in which “extraordinary and exceptional measures were put on the table by all the autonomous communities” to address this situation.
“The minister’s commitment was to send a document with everything we had talked about in that Interterritorial Council, the contribution to all the autonomous communities, and once we had that document we would all approve it” –Ministry and autonomous communities–, he said. The counselor continued to relate, who in this regard has warned with “surprise” that in the agenda of the ordinary Interterritorial Council scheduled for this Friday “there is no point that supports the presentation of that document that we had to approve between all”.
The counselor has stressed that the Andalusian Government does not want to end up having to close health centers this summer, and “that is why we are working in an important and determined way to solve all these problems”, but also “it is true that we expect the response from the Ministry”, as he added.
Finally, the counselor stressed that the data she detailed this Tuesday correspond to actions carried out within the framework of the Andalusian public health system, despite the “noise” that is spread from the opposition to the PP-A Government about the alleged “privatization.” “of Andalusian health by the Board.