The Metges de Catalunya (MC) union has reported that the Catalan public healthcare system continues to experience structural delays in accessing surgeries, diagnostic tests, and specialist consultations, particularly outside of Barcelona. According to a study based on official data from the Department of Health, hospitals in Lleida city are facing "worrying" delays for initial appointments in Ophthalmology and Traumatology. The average waiting time last December was 125 days, significantly exceeding the reference period of 90 days for ordinary cases.
The study also highlights the average waiting times of 89 days for an electromyogram and 79 days for a colonoscopy. Regarding surgeries, although the plain and Pyrenees regions show good indicators, a general "positive evolution" is observed in Lleida city. However, the union points out the 93-day average wait for hip replacement surgeries, with 144 patients on the waiting list at the end of last year.
The Department of Health has responded that the number of patients waiting beyond the deadline for outpatient consultations in Lleida has decreased compared to the previous year. Concerning surgical activity, unified monitoring is underway due to ongoing works in the surgical block of the Arnau de Vilanova hospital, which will necessitate a reduction in activity from June onwards and the referral of operations to the Santa Maria and Mi NovAliança hospitals.
Furthermore, over sixty services from twenty-two Catalan hospitals have joined an initiative by Metges de Catalunya for doctors to refuse any healthcare activities outside their ordinary and mandatory working hours. The union's president, Xavier Lleonart, stated that "the administrations do not want to know anything about our group" and that they are not willing to "continue supporting the system at the cost of our extra effort." Currently, none of the participating hospitals are located in Lleida, although the union's spokesperson at Santa Maria, Santiago Miguelsanz, indicated they are collecting signatures due to the "arrogance of the health department."
