SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 16 April (EUROPA PRESS) –
As of December 2023, the Canary Islands are no longer the autonomous community with the lengthiest waiting times for surgical procedures, now trailing behind three other regions. Data on waiting lists for the second half of 2023, released by the Ministry of Health, show that seven communities, including the Canary Islands, have managed to decrease their waiting lists during this period.
The Canarian Health Service (SCS) has reported a 7.26 percent decrease in the surgical waiting list compared to the previous semester. According to the Government of the Canary Islands’ Ministry of Health, this marks the first reduction in the surgical queue over a six-month period since January 2021, as the data had been consistently increasing each semester until now.
Currently, there are 33,751 individuals on the surgical waiting list in the Canary Islands, with an average wait time of 146.5 days. This figure had been steadily rising since recording 153 days in June 2023 and 167 days in December 2022, positioning the Canary Islands with the lengthiest delays in Spain during those periods.
The Ministry of Health acknowledges that these statistics are still subject to improvement and states its commitment to continue efforts to reverse the trend. However, it notes a positive shift in patient care trends in the last six months. Over the previous legislative period, the surgical waiting list had increased by 46 percent. While this upward trend was observed nationwide, towards the end of 2022, other regions began to show improvement in their data, whereas the Canary Islands struggled to turn the situation around, as stated by department head Esther Monzón.
By the end of December 2022, the archipelago had the highest waiting times for surgical procedures. However, as of December 31, 2023, this figure is now surpassed by Extremadura (181 days), Andalusia (174 days), and Cantabria (173 days), positioning the Canary Islands alongside Aragón at 146.5 days. Moreover, in the analysis by autonomous communities, the Canary Islands are one of the seven regions that successfully reduced their waiting lists compared to June 2023, while the lists increased in ten regions.
“Although there is still ample room for improvement, the data shows that while other autonomous communities have seen a deterioration in waiting times over the past semester, the figures in the Canary Islands have improved with the implementation of the Activa Plan to reduce waiting lists,” the Ministry points out.
QUERIES AND ACTIVA PLAN.
The waiting list for consultations stood at 147,952 individuals in December 2023, marking a 2.2 percent increase from June. As in the previous period, the Canary Islands continue to have the lengthiest waiting times for consultations among autonomous communities.
The Ministry of Health has highlighted ongoing efforts in 2024 to reverse this challenging situation, especially considering the waiting list for consultations had increased by 27 percent in the past year. The primary goal has been to curb this continuous rise and change the trajectory towards improvement.
The SCS aims to provide necessary care to patients promptly. To achieve this, the Ministry highlights the introduction of the Activa Plan. This initiative encompasses programmes to enhance surgical activities, consultations, and tests, as well as enhance system efficiency. Measures include prioritising patients with the lengthiest delays for attention, promoting major outpatient surgeries without hospitalisation requirements, and monthly evaluation of activities to rectify any potential deviations.
