Public-private companies lead the surgical wait in Madrid

The Community of Madrid (CAM) is the first in less surgical delays throughout the national territory and mixed management hospitals are the key to explaining this leadership. These centers combine very short waiting times and extraordinarily high care activity. In practice, they not only maintain the best indicators, but also contribute decisively to making the Madrid average the most favorable in all of Spain.

If When the results are analyzed by hospital, the leadership of the public-private collaboration centers is evident. Thus, according to the latest data published by the Madrid Health Service (Sermas), corresponding to the month of January, in the ranking of hospitals with the shortest waiting time for surgeries, four public centers in the Quirónsalud Group: the General University Hospital of Villalba, with 13.95 days; the Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital, with 18.17; the Jiménez Díaz Foundation with 22.25; and the Infanta Elena University Hospital, with 25.64 days. All of them are below the one-month waiting period for operations.

If the analysis is adjusted to the level of care complexity, among high complexity hospitals (Group 3), which concentrate a greater volume of specialties and complex clinical cases, after the leadership of the Jiménez Díaz Foundation -now more than 32 days apart- the San Carlos Clinical Hospital is in second place, with 54.79. They are followed, also around two months of waiting, by Gregorio Marañón Hospital and the La Paz University Hospital, with 59.90 and 60.66 days respectively. They exceed two months The Princesswith 68.70; the Ramón y Cajal, with 69.98; on October 12, with 72.04; and, in last place, with 74.21 days, the Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda Hospital.

Among medium complexity hospitals (Group 2), the range ranges from just over 40 days to more than three months. The Severo Ochoa University Hospital marks 40.89 days; that of Fuenlabrada, 42.58; that of the Gómez Ulla Defense, 46.80; the Infanta Sofía, 54.58; that of Torrejón, 55.85; the Child Jesus, 57.69; the Alcorcón Foundation, 60.47; the Prince of Asturias, 79.40; the University Hospital of Móstoles, 69.79; the Infanta Leonor University Hospital, 71.25; the Prince of Asturias, 79.40; and the University Hospital of Getafe, 92.32.

Finally, among low complexity hospitals (Group 1), the variability is even greater: some centers are around a month and a half, while others far exceed two months or even three. After the exception of the Infanta Elena Hospital (25.64 days), the Santa Cristina Hospital (35.81 days), El Escorial (41.17), the San José and Santa Adela Red Cross Center (36.95), the Henares Hospital (65.10), the Tajo Hospital (68.47) and the Infanta Cristina Hospital (68.56) exceed the month of waiting. Finally, the Sureste Hospital is the one with the longest waiting time among those with low complexity and also among all those in the CAM, with more than one hundred days (107.32).

The Community of Madrid has established itself as the region with the shortest average access time to surgical interventions in the entire National Health System (SNS). This is reflected in the latest report of the Waiting List System (SISLE), which analyzes on a semiannual and homogeneous basis the evolution of delay times, the care burden and the resolution capacity of the autonomous communities.

The data place Madrid in a clearly differentiated position compared to other territories. While in communities like Catalonia or Andalusia surgical delays are around five months and the percentage of patients who wait more than six months is significant, Madrid presents substantially lower indicators. According to the Ministry of Health, the region not only improves the national average, but also establishes the lowest record in the entire SNS. The average surgical waiting time in Madrid is 49 days, compared to the 118.6 days of the national average – almost 70 days less – and well below Catalonia (148 days) and Andalusia (160 days).

The difference is also noticeable in long delays. Only 0.5% of Madrid patients wait more than six months to undergo surgery, compared to 61.8% in the country as a whole. Likewise, the rate of patients on the structural surgical waiting list stands at 9.96 per thousand inhabitants, practically half of the national average (17.35), even in a context of high demand for care.

Together, these indicators point to an organizational model with high responsiveness, which allows reducing access times and improving surgical resolution compared to most autonomous communities.