The elderly ask for the reinforcement of the National Health System

On the occasion of World Health Daywhich is commemorated on April 7, the Platform for Seniors and Pensioners (PMP) has called for urgently placing the strengthening of the National Health System (SNS) and, especially, Primary Care, at the center of the public agenda. At the same time, he has stressed that guaranteeing the right to health in an increasingly long-lived society with increasingly rapid technological advances requires sustained decisions, adequate resources and reforms capable of responding to the chronicity, dependency and inequalities that cross the entire life cycle.

In this sense, the PMP has recalled that public health maintains broad social support, although it coexists with signs of wear and tear and citizen concern that must be addressed with structural measures. This is reflected in the 2025 Health Barometer, prepared by the Ministry of Health and the CISwhich places satisfaction with the public health system at 6.02 points out of 10 and shows that a significant part of the population perceives a need for reforms, with notable differences between territories. As the president of the PMP Health Commission has pointed out, Jose Manuel Freire“these indicators reinforce the urgency of prioritizing the SNS and providing it with the resources and instruments of good governance and management that it requires.”

Likewise, the Platform has insisted that Primary Care must fully recover its role as the backbone of the system. He Health Barometer confirms its scope and relevance: almost 80.8% of the adult population uses public Primary Care, which has obtained a high positive rating (around 80.4%), highlighting the confidence conveyed by professionals. However, it also highlights a persistent problem of accessibility and delays: only a minority is seen within 24–48 hours and, when an early appointment is not obtained, the average wait is around 9 days, which often pushes part of the population to look for alternatives or resort to emergency services.

For this reason, the Platform has demanded measures that restore resolution capacity to Primary Careguarantee continuity of care and allow more personalized care, with greater decision-making capacity and properly informed, especially for older people and people with disabilities, who usually live with chronic pathologies and require sustained monitoring and coordination.

Specifically, the Platform has highlighted the need to reinforce Primary Care in the home environment (including nursing care and proactive monitoring) and to guarantee adequate health coverage in residential and proximity centers, with sufficient resources and effective coordination, recognizing the right to comprehensive coverage by the SNS on equal terms with the rest of the citizens.

On the other hand, the PMP has warned of the accumulated pressure on specialized care. Along these lines, the Health Barometer 2025 points to relevant delays in specialist consultations after referral from Primary Care (with a significant proportion of people reporting long waits), and reflects a widespread social perception that waiting lists are not improving. For the Platform, this only demonstrates the need for a National Plan to Strengthen the SNS with verifiable objectives of accessibility, time and territorial equity, preventing the burden from falling on patients and families.

The PMP has also insisted that the coordination between Primary Care, specialties and hospitals (and, especially, between the health system and social services) continues to be a pending issue. According to the Barometer, nearly half of the population (49.4%) positively values ​​coordination between levels, with territorial variability, which indicates room for improvement. Therefore, for the Platform it is a priority to move towards real socio-health coordination, in which discontinuities, duplications and inattention are avoided, especially with regard to chronicity and dependency.

Likewise, the president of the PMP Health Commission has recalled that health It does not depend only on healthcare. Living conditions (rurality, poverty, inequality, housing, employment, pensions, education, etc.) have a decisive influence on well-being and the opportunities for healthy aging. For this reason, he has insisted on the need for public policies that act on the socioeconomic determinants of health, with a long-term and life course perspective, because “an active and healthy old age is built from the early stages.”

Along with structural reinforcement, the Platform has requested promote preventive measures with direct impact on personal autonomy and quality of life, remembering the need to develop a National Plan for Prevention and Action against Falls and to recognize oral health as an integral part of health, with effective deployment in the public portfolio.

In short, the PMP has appealed to “a great social and political agreement”in line with the Opinion on Health and Public Health approved by the Congress of Deputies during COVID-19, which makes it possible to reinforce public health “with stability, foresight and vision of the future, prioritizing Primary Care, accessibility, coordination and reduction of inequalities. Only in this way can we have a robust, equitable SNS capable of responding to the needs of the population at all stages of life.”