Spain cancels Friday talks on waiting-list rules

Spain cancels Friday’s meeting on medical waiting lists: a draft that would change when a patient’s wait starts will not be discussed as planned. The Health Ministry called off the special session of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, it confirmed to Europa Press on Thursday, 8 October.

The meeting had already been moved once. It was first set for Friday, 2 October, but was postponed when Spain’s Congress held an urgent sitting on housing decrees.

Under the draft, a patient’s wait would count from the date a doctor recommends care, even if the patient is not entered on the waiting-list register until up to five calendar days later. The system would cover hospital outpatient appointments, diagnostic and therapeutic tests, and surgery. It would also measure delays in primary care for the first time.

The cancelled meeting was also due to agree how to distribute funds for programmes, plans and monitoring systems among Spain’s autonomous communities and the National Institute of Health Management. The ministry says its next regular meetings with regional health departments will still take place.

Topics: Health

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com