LOGROÑO 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The shock plan promoted by SERIS and the unequivocal commitment of the health professionals of our Community has made it possible to reduce the surgical delay in La Rioja to 64 days, compared to 121 days in the country as a whole, according to the latest data on Lists of Waiting published by the Ministry of Health on June 30, 2024, and highlighted by the regional government.
Thus, in the last year, La Rioja has gained five relative positions in the community table, with a reduction of 36 days in the average waiting time, a decrease of more than 56 percent in this indicator that shows the good result. of the measures implemented during the first year of this Legislature.
Likewise, in this same period (June 2023-June 2024), Rioja patients waiting for an intervention have been considerably reduced, going from 8,831 last year to 6,292 in June 2024. In this regard, it is worth highlighting that the The percentage of patients who wait more than 6 months to undergo surgery in our Community has decreased by 11.8 points in these twelve months, reaching just 3.6 percent. We Riojans occupy the second position among Spaniards who wait the least to undergo surgery in specialties such as Ophthalmology (45 days), Plastic Surgery (58 days) and Thoracic Surgery (16 days).
Regarding consultations with the specialist, the average waiting time has increased slightly in this period, from 46 days in June 2023 to 58 a year later, an increase that, in any case, has occurred in the vast majority of autonomous communities according to the Ministry’s data. An evolution attributable to the lack of health professionals, common to public health services throughout Spain. Despite this slight increase, La Rioja is the second Community with the shortest average waiting time, well below the average for the country as a whole, which is 87 days.
According to data from the Ministry, 15,567 patients are waiting for a consultation with a specialist in our Community, which represents a rate of 48.45 per 1,000 inhabitants, the 3rd lowest in Spain. We Riojans are the Spaniards who wait the least amount of time to be seen by a specialist in Gynecology (22 days), Traumatology (19 days), Dermatology (33 days), ENT (21 days), Neurology (21 days) and Cardiology (15 days). days).
Reducing waiting times and surgical delays is a priority for the Government of La Rioja and, especially, for those responsible for SERIS. For this reason, a year ago, the Ministry of Health set among its fundamental objectives shortening these times, which in mid-August 2023 were 123 days, in order to achieve better management of the Public Health System of La Rioja. One year later, we have achieved that the average surgical delay is the third lowest in all of Spain and almost half the figure that it had in the summer of 2023.
This indicator obtained is close to the objective committed by the Government of La Rioja for the first year: placing the average surgical delay at around 60 days. Without a doubt, the data published this Wednesday by the Ministry of Health reflects the effort and involvement of the Government of La Rioja to be able to redirect an unacceptable situation that compromised management, but, fundamentally, the response of the health system to the needs and well-being of all. the Riojans.
“The implementation by the Government of La Rioja of the shock plan in 2023, which included measures at a structural and organizational level, increasing surgical activity in the afternoons and weekends, as well as the referral, to external centers, of certain procedures in surgical specialties with longer waiting times, in addition to the commitment of health professionals is behind these good results,” they highlighted.
The Shock Plan of the Government of La Rioja for more efficient management of waiting lists has included the following measures:
Increased surgical activity in the evenings and weekends. Opening of controls with double-use rooms at the San Pedro Hospital to face extraordinary surgical activity.
Referral of minor accidents to other centers, covered by the drivers’ insurance companies. Increase in voluntary additional activity modules for medical and nursing personnel exempt from on-call duties (over 55 years of age, for maternity/paternity reasons, for caring for family members)
Hiring external resources to perform interventions in specialties with more delay: Traumatology, Urology, General Surgery, Spine-Neurosurgery.
Promotion of Major Outpatient Surgery.
Greater use of resources among SERIS Hospitals.