The information shared by the ministerial department highlights a reduction of two days in the average waiting time for patients to undergo surgery, now standing at 126 days, while 22.9 percent of patients waited for more than six months, representing a decrease of 1.4 points compared to the previous year.
Comparing with the data from June 2024, it can be observed that the volume of waiting lists has decreased, as there were 848,342 patients waiting for surgery at that time. However, the waiting time has increased, as it was at 121 days at the beginning of the summer.
Similarly to previous years, Traumatology leads the list of specialties with the highest number of waiting lists (204,140 compared to 206,375 in December 2023). This is followed by Ophthalmology, with 169,447 patients waiting compared to 177,844 from the previous year, and General and Digestive Surgery, with 151,713 compared to 156,254.
Furthermore, Thoracic Surgery remains the specialty with the least amount of people waiting, with a total of 2,587 patients, representing an increase compared to the figures from December 2023, when there were 2,450 people on the waiting list.
The specialties with the shortest average waiting times are Cardiac Surgery, with 67 days, Dermatology and Ophthalmology with 72 and 83 days, respectively. In contrast, Plastic Surgery remains the specialty with the longest average waiting time at 258 days, followed by Neurosurgery at 191 days and Angiology and Vascular Surgery at 160 days.
Regarding processes subject to guarantees, the average waiting time for the 11 monitored processes is 96 days. The five surgical processes subject to waiting time guarantees in the National Health System (NHS) all have waiting times below the established 180 days.
In particular, coronary cardiac surgery has the shortest waiting time at 45 days, with only 1.2 percent of patients waiting beyond the maximum established period. Valvular cardiac surgery has an average waiting time of 65 days, and five percent of patients exceed 180 days.
For the most common intervention, cataract surgery, the average waiting time is 69 days, with 4.6 percent of patients waiting over 180 days. On the other hand, hip and knee replacement surgeries have the longest waiting times at 103 and 120 days, respectively, with the highest percentage of patients exceeding the maximum 180-day limit; specifically, 15.3 and 18.4 percent of patients exceed this limit for each intervention.
In 2024, there was a 4.7 percent increase in entries on the waiting list for non-urgent scheduled surgical interventions compared to the previous year, with a similar increase in interventions performed.
As of December 31, 2024, 83 out of every 1,000 people were on a waiting list for a first consultation with a hospital specialist. This rate is 1.7 points higher than in December 2023. The average waiting time for these patients is 105 days, four days longer than in December 2023.
The proportion of patients with a scheduled appointment more than 60 days away is 62.3 percent. This indicator, which was at 56.3 percent in December 2023, has been adjusted in its calculation, according to the Ministry of Health, making it not comparable in this update.
Shorter waiting times are seen in General Surgery with an average waiting time of 57 days, Gynecology with 68 days, and Cardiology with 71 days. The specialties with the longest waiting times are Dermatology with 131 days, Neurology with 129 days, and Traumatology with 119 days.
EXTREMADURA AND ANDALUCÍA, THE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES WITH THE LONGEST WAITING TIMES
Once again, Extremadura is the autonomous community where patients have to wait the longest to be operated on, with 178 days, followed by Andalucía, which remains the second leading community with 176 days of waiting. The national average, set at 126 days, is also surpassed by Cantabria (151), Catalonia (145), Aragón (144), and Melilla (137).
Below the national average are Canary Islands (122), Castilla-La Mancha (113), Murcia (107), Balearic Islands (99), Castilla y León (95), Navarra (94), Valencian Community (93), Asturias (90), Ceuta (83), Galicia (67), La Rioja (64), Basque Country (59), and Madrid (48).
When considering the waiting list rate per 1,000 inhabitants, Cantabria tops the list with 29.37 patients per 1,000 inhabitants and a total of 16,925 patients waiting for surgery. It is followed by Catalonia with 25.10 patients per 1,000 inhabitants and 196,911 patients in total, and Extremadura, with 24.03 per 1,000 inhabitants and 24,467 patients in total.
Following them are Andalucía, with 23.11 (194,159); Murcia with 22.46 (35,156); Asturias, 22.04 (22,131); Aragón, 20.86 (28,256); La Rioja, 19.93 (6,442); Galicia, 18.51 (48,335); Castilla-La Mancha, 17.47 (34,694); Navarra, 156.83 (10,535); Canary Islands, 15.29 (32,948); Melilla, 13.12 (928); Castilla y León, 11.86 (27,525); Balearic Islands, 11.47 (14,095); Valencian Community, 11.08 (56,247); Madrid, 10.41 (73,436); Ceuta, 10.35 (784); and Basque Country, 10.16 (22,609).
FUENTE
