The wait for primary care doubles

The wait to be seen with an appointment in Primary Care (PC) has almost doubled in the last eight years, going from an average delay time of 4.77 days in 2018 to the 9.15 recorded in 2025as can be seen from the Health Barometer 2025prepared by the Ministry of Health.

The report, published this Friday, compiles the results of the three waves of the barometer presented throughout last year, which were based on a total of 7,197 interviewsand compares them with those of the last decade, as well as between autonomous communities.

The territories with the longest delay in AP are Andalusia, which registers an average wait of 11.16 days in 2025; Catalonia, with 10.59 days and Madrid, with 9.6 days. The Basque Country is the only community that has a waiting time of less than five days (4.91).

51.6 percent of Spaniards consider that the health system works “pretty good” or “good, although it needs some changes”, which represents a decrease of 20.5 points compared to the percentage of the population that made the same assessment in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report warns of a negative evolution in opinion about the functioning of the health system since the pandemic. In addition to decreasing the percentage of the population that has a favorable vision, has increased from 4.1 to 20.2 percent who think that functional healthcare is “bad and needs profound changes.”

In an analysis by CCAA, notable differences are observed. The population of Cantabria is the one that values ​​the functioning of the health system most positively, with 66.4 percent stating that it works “quite good” or “good, although some changes are necessary.” At the other extreme is Andalusia, where 38.8 percent have a good opinion, which means that the gap between territories is 27.6 points.

Regarding the perception that the general population has about the public health system, whether they have used it or not, The rating is 6.02 out of 10on a scale in which 1 means ‘very dissatisfied’ and 10 means ‘very satisfied’.

While between 2015 and 2019 this score maintained a trend mainly ascendingstarting from 6.38 out of 10 in 2015 until reaching its historical maximum in 2019, with a score of 6.74, after the parenthesis of 2020 and 2021 in which barometers were not carried out, a significant change in trend towards decline is observed.

In this sense, in 2022, the level of satisfaction stood at 6.25 and remains at similar values ​​during the years 2023 and 2024 until, finally, the score falls to 6.02 in 2025, the lowest value of the entire historical series analyzed.

The report includes an analysis of the evolution that the average rating of the different public health servicesboth Primary Care (PC) and Hospital and Emergencies.

As for AP, consultations in health centers have gone from being the service best valued by citizens, with a maximum peak of 7.29 points in 2019, to experiencing a significant drop starting in 2022 that reaches 2025 with a grade of 6.27.

Hospital care consultations show the further decline relative value of the Spanish. After reaching its maximum in 2019 (7.13), they begin a constant decline until reaching 5.74 in 2025, becoming the worst rated service.

Hospital admission, which had not seen the upward trend in its assessment altered by the pandemic, has suffered a small decrease in the last two barometers, but managed to stay above seven points.

Emergencies 061 and 112 are consolidated as the health service best valued by the population. Since 2019, when they obtained 7.35 points, they have maintained high ratings, reaching their maximum in 2023, with 7.47 points, and closing the period in 2025 with a score of 7.26.

For its part, the perception of Emergencies in public hospitals, which improved after the pandemic, has stabilized in values ​​greater than six points.