The Ministry of Health has published its six-monthly report in which it shows, by community, how much Spaniards wait for time to operate. In this report, the surgical waiting list and health spending are also compared.
The first thing that catches your eye when you look at the health study are the great differences that exist between the different regions, while Aragon and Catalonia are the communities that have more waiting days with 183 and 156. Madrid and Basque Country are the ones who least expect, with 73 and 71 days.
However, the average in Spain indicates that the average waiting time is 123 days. This figure has increased due to the pandemic reduced the capacity of hospitals to carry out operations, since the health workers were focused on fighting Covid and, consequently, the people who were on the waiting list for have surgery they accumulated during the toughest moments of the pandemic.
Surgical waiting list and health expenditure by community
Aragon
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,786
Total patients pending surgery: 25,887
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 19.62
% patients with more than 6 months: 31.8
Average waiting time (days): 183
Catalonia
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,271
Total patients pending surgery: 154,799
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 20.76
% patients with more than 6 months: 30.6
Average waiting time (days): 156
canatabria
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,707
Total patients pending surgery: 13,453
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 23.73
% patients with more than 6 months: 30.7
Average waiting time (days): 146
Estremadura
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,779
Total patients pending surgery: 24,245
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 23.70
% patients with more than 6 months: 27.4
Average waiting time (days): 145
Canary Islands
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,466
Total patients pending surgery: 30,702
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 14.84
% patients with more than 6 months: 25.6
Average waiting time (days): 144
Castile and Leon
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,814
Total patients pending surgery: 42,107
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 18.34
% patients with more than 6 months: 29.2
Average waiting time (days): 144
Balearic Islands
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,582
Total patients pending surgery: 14,412
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 12.51
% patients with more than 6 months: 23.3
Average waiting time (days): 134
Andalusia
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,368
Total patients pending surgery: 122,959
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 15.00
% patients with more than 6 months: 19.8
Average waiting time (days): 128
Castilla la Mancha
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,790
Total patients pending surgery: 30,956
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 15.91
% patients with more than 6 months: 0.9
Average waiting time (days): 113
Valencian Community
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,484
Total patients pending surgery: 50,831
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 10.72
% patients with more than 6 months: 15.9
Average waiting time (days): 100
Asturias
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,938
Total patients pending surgery: 20,115
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 20.15
% patients with more than 6 months: 14.5
Average waiting time (days): 95
The Rioja
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,693
Total patients pending surgery: 6,941
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 22.12
% patients with more than 6 months: 18.4
Average waiting time (days): 95
Region of Murcia
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,443
Total patients pending surgery: 24,892
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 16.63
% patients with more than 6 months: 15.1
Average waiting time (days): 94
Navarre
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,902
Total patients pending surgery: 6,531
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 10.11
% patients with more than 6 months: 11.1
Average waiting time (days): 82
Galicia
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,703
Total patients pending surgery: 43,194
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 16.49
% patients with more than 6 months: 8.0
Average waiting time (days): 77
Madrid
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,213
Total patients pending surgery: 71,956
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 10.74
% patients with more than 6 months: 9.3
Average waiting time (days): 73
Basque Country
Expenditure on health per capita: 1,931
Total patients pending surgery: 21,707
Rate per 1,000 inhabitants: 9.73
% patients with more than 6 months: 7.0
Average waiting time (days): 71