The possibility of being able to request an appointment with the family doctor through the app promoted by the Ministry of Health has revealed that the delays in being attended to by the doctor in the outpatient clinic reach, in some cases, two weeks. According to what he has been able to verify THE PROVINCESto arrange telephone attention with the health center doctor – the professional will analyze if the visit is necessary -, in ambulatory of Alzira o l’Eliana yesterday the first date available for some patients was August 7, in Benetússer on August 5th and in Dénia, Valencia o Albal on July 29th. But always in care for adult patients, since in pediatrics, in the health centers consulted by this newspaper, the deadline for obtaining an appointment by phone did not exceed 24 hours.
These waits reinforce the complaints that family doctors have been expressing about the lack of staff, the excess of patients to be treated and the colapse of telephone switchboardsThe first is the “Clinic of the Day”, where patients have real difficulties in locating their doctor and arranging a visit.
For the spokesperson of the Community Primary Care Physicians Forum, María Ángeles MedinaThese waiting periods are “unacceptable” and confirm the congestion of the consultations of the doctors of the outpatient clinics, who come to attend up to 60 patients per day A third of the staff are on holiday – in some clinics, up to half of the staff – so those who are left must take on their colleagues. This situation, especially as a result of the congestion of the switchboards and the discomfort generated among patients – who are forced to go directly to the health centres and queue up at the door – has led doctors to meet with the mayors of the main cities in order to inform them of the situation and request their collaborationand in view of the inaction of the Ministry of Health, which has not heeded our advice and recommendations”. In fact, representatives of the aforementioned forum, which brings together the main scientific societies, professional associations and the Medical Union CESM-CV, have already held meetings with the mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribóand the one in Elche, Carlos GonzalezThe meeting was attended by representatives of the City Council of Alicante, and will continue in the near future with Castellón and the provincial councils.
“They won’t be able to buy switchboards from us, but the same administrative staff of the city council can collaborate with us to expedite patient appointments. We’ve also asked them to make training and information campaigns for citizens to make proper use of health resources, to be patient and to ease the situation,” said the doctors’ forum spokesperson.
