CIS - Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

• According to the third wave of the health barometer carried out by the CIS this year, the trust and security transmitted by nursing staff is the highest rated service in primary care with 7.89
• 58.1% claim to have waited more than a week to be seen by their family doctor “because there was no appointment before”
• 39.7% of Spaniards go to private centers for consultations with specialists

The Sociological Research Center has carried out the third wave of the Health barometer in agreement with the Ministry of Health, in which it asks about the degree of satisfaction with the public health system and what aspects work or they believe can be improved.

Spaniards value the public health system positively and it continues to be the first option over the private system. 57.5% assure that the health system works quite well, although changes are necessary, while 15% affirm that “it works poorly and needs profound changes.” When rating the health system from 1 to 10, with 10 being “very satisfied” and 1 being “very dissatisfied” – Spaniards give public health an average of 6.24.

The public health system continues to be the first option

71% of Spaniards have stated that they prefer consultations with their family doctors and pediatricians in public healthcare, compared to 26.2% who have stated that in private centers. Similar figures when it comes to hospital admissions, 75.4% choose public hospitals and 20.5% private hospitals.

When we talk about consultations with specialists, the data are equal, since 39.7% have stated that they prefer private centers, compared to 56.8% who prefer public centers.

21.1% have indicated that they have private insurance because they or a member of their family has contracted it, and of those who have insurance, the majority assure that they have done so because of the speed with which they are treated (76.5%). .

Assessment of public health services

The '061' and '112' emergencies are the best rated services (7.44 out of 10) as is usual in this barometer, in second position is “admission and care in public hospitals” with a 7.27 and the “Primary care consultations in GP health centers” in third place with 6.41. Specialist consultations are the least valued, but achieve a 6 out of 10.

Regarding waiting lists, 70% of Spaniards who have required an appointment with their family doctor during the last 12 months have waited more than a day to be seen “because there was no appointment before”, only 9.6% He has assured that he was attended to on the same day.

In addition, of those who had to wait more than a day to be seen, 58.1% waited more than a week.

Primary care consultations

Nursing staff and the trust they convey continue to be the highest-rated service in primary care with a 7.89 out of 10, followed by medical staff and the trust and security they provide with a 7.77. In third position, patients positively value the information they receive about their health problems (7.42) and the knowledge and monitoring of health problems from primary care centers achieves a 7.20.

The worst rated, although it almost achieved a notable score, is “the time dedicated by the medical staff to each patient” with a 6.86.
80.9% of those who have had a consultation with their primary care physicians in the last year have stated that the care they have received has been “very good or good.” Only 4.3% have indicated that it has been “bad or very bad.”

Furthermore, 61.7% of people who have had a health problem during the last 12 months and have needed to talk to their doctor have been able to do so, but 10.7% have stated that they have not been able to when they have needed to. .

Of those who have not been able to do so, 31.9% is because “they gave him an appointment for many days later and he ended up going to the emergency room”, and 22.2% “they gave him an appointment for days later and the consultation was no longer necessary ”. 10% ended up in private consultation because they gave them an appointment for many days later.

Via telephone

32.2% of Spaniards have stated that all consultations with the doctor should be in person, while 65.5% have indicated that "some of the consultations can be done by telephone and others should be in person", and only 1.5% responded that they could all be done by phone.

Patients who have been seen by telephone during the last twelve months believe that it is more comfortable for the doctor (71.3%), but 55.2% have indicated that it is not as comfortable to be able to explain themselves as in a face-to-face consultation. . And 59.2% of patients have assured that they understand the doctor's instructions as well as in the face-to-face consultation.

You can consult these and other data on our website (www.cis.es), in the third wave of the health barometer that was carried out from October 16 to 19, with a sample of 2,617 interviews. For any questions, the Communication telephone number is 91 580 76 25.

Esta información puede ser usada en parte o en su integridad sin necesidad de citar fuentes.

C/ Montalbán, 8
28014 Madrid
Email: comunicacion@cis.es
Tlf.: 91.580.76.25
Fax: 91.531.81.31

Press release