Madrid manipulates waiting lists, at least for surgical interventions, a practice that is neither penalized nor sanctioned. This is indicated by the Minister of Health herself, Mónica García, a statement also supported by Ángela Hernández, head of the largest medical union in Madrid, Amyts, who goes further: “Not only does Madrid do it, other autonomous communities do as well,” she says.
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These statements come after surgeons at the Ramón y Cajal hospital in Madrid denounced that hospital officials manipulated the surgical waiting lists electronically, arbitrarily lowering the severity of dozens of patients to disguise the center’s statistics, as reported by El País.
According to this newspaper, the heads of the service modified the computer system behind the backs of the trauma surgeons, confirming the downgrade of priority for at least 57 patients, including a girl of only three years old.
The affected patients went from being classified as preferential priority (whose maximum time to be operated on is 90 days) to normal priority (which extends the deadline to 180 days). All this was done without any prior medical reevaluation.
The Madrid Health Department denies such interference by Ramón y Cajal officials in the management of surgical waiting lists, as these correspond to the “care services,” not the management. According to data from the Community of Madrid, the average structural delay on the surgical waiting list is around 57.26 days, with a total of 114,627 patients awaiting surgery.
In response to this information, the Minister of Health stated on X: “Manipulating waiting lists, deceiving surgeons and patients, is neither new nor penalized.”
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The Amyts union also confirms this practice, stating that it has been going on for a long time. “We cheat ourselves with the indicators,” says Hernández, who recalls that they have been denouncing this situation for years.
Thus, after COVID, this union, as well as CC.OO, denounced that waiting list data had been disguised (at that time they said that the list had decreased).
Why is it done? The main reason, Hernández, a surgeon, assures, is that if the hospital does not meet the objectives set by the health department, “budgets are reduced and, as things stand, few can afford that,” she points out.
The minister, aware of these practices, tried to establish new accounting criteria for waiting lists. In July, Health brought new transparency and traceability criteria for the royal decree on waiting lists to the Interterritorial Council, but they were not approved by the autonomous communities. This text will return to the Interterritorial Council.
The Association for the Defense of Public Health of Madrid has recalled that they have been “for years” denouncing that the waiting list figures in Madrid do not reflect the full reality experienced by patients, due to management that is “too concerned” with disguising the figures and “too little” with reducing the actual waiting time for patients.
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