There is a lack of doctors, it has been repeated for years. From the health department (Catalan or others) balls are usually thrown outside. What if the number has been increased (never enough), what if there are no more to hire... The volume of patients per doctor and the long waits to see a specialist show that there is a lack of doctors in the Spanish public health system.
But Spain has a ratio of these members per inhabitant higher than that of other European countries such as France or Germany and, therefore, there are those in the sector who say that there is no shortage of more doctors, that they only need to be redistributed better since only some specialties are deficient.
The Ministry of Health published a report a couple of years ago that analyzed that by 2024 there would be a shortage of around 8,000 doctors. In the Barcelona district alone, 1,000 will retire per year until 2026. The measures to compensate for this situation should have been taken years ago and not enough was done. The central government decided last year to expand places in medical schools by 15%. There are those who claim that, by the time those currently enrolled in first year finish their studies, there is already a risk of training more professionals than will be needed.
On Saturday, almost 14,000 applicants took the resident doctor exam (MIR) to access practical training in health centers for 8,772 places. 40% are left out; They will hardly enter public health. Could more places be announced? Yes, they have already been increasing in recent years, but moderately. This year there are 222 more than last. The positions have an economic cost – although poorly paid, the MIRs have a salary – that the administrations do not want to skyrocket. This year there have been thirty more places in family medicine, the majority specialty. A year ago, about 200 were left unelected: there are graduates who do not want to be primary care doctors; They are stopped by work overload, going to a rural consultation, which is an undervalued specialty...
From obstacle to obstacle. It is already known that the demand in healthcare can be infinite, but in this area everything always leads to the perennial under-provision of economic resources and the effects that this entails. Patients, it's time to resist and continue asking for more doctors.
