Madrid hospital allegedly cuts surgery priority for 57
At Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid, 57 people waiting for orthopaedic and trauma surgery were allegedly moved into a lower-priority category. El País says two senior doctors made the changes without the surgeons’ knowledge. Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García said on Tuesday that she now expects regions to back tighter controls on waiting lists.
The patients were moved from the preferred category, where surgery should take place within 90 days, to the normal category, which allows up to 180 days. El País, citing documents and emails, said the switch gave those responsible more time to operate within the target.
New checks return to health council
García said manipulation of waiting lists, including misleading surgeons and patients, is neither new nor penalised. She said patients’ health must not be treated as a game.
Her ministry presented new transparency and tracking indicators to the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System in July. The autonomous communities asked for more time to approve the shared criteria.
García said the proposal will return to the council in the coming weeks. It is intended to pave the way for a new royal decree on waiting lists, replacing the rules from 2003.
Tracking each patient’s path
The planned system would make it easier to see what happens to every patient from joining a waiting list to receiving a test or an operation, García said.
She said the changes would bring greater transparency and make it harder to alter schedules or conceal waits. García also accused the Madrid regional government of putting seriously ill patients at risk to improve its waiting-time figures.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com