OCU Survey on primary and emergency care in the national health service.

OCU has conducted a survey to determine the satisfaction of citizens with primary care in the national health service and their emergency departments. Although waiting times have increased, citizen satisfaction has increased compared to previous surveys conducted by OCU in 2003 and 2009.
To carry out this study, OCU interviewed 4,003 users between the ages of 18 and 74, between September and October 2013. The sample is representative of the Spanish population. 94% of respondents went to a health centre last year and more than half went to the emergency department at least once. Barely 4% used private healthcare exclusively.

Longer waiting times before being seen
Only 43% of people get a next day appointment with their family doctor. The rest have to wait in most cases between 2 and 7 days. The differences between regions are remarkable; while 3 out of 4 patients in Navarra and La Rioja have to wait at most one day to see their doctor, 20% of Catalans have to wait over a week.
The thing worst valued by users is the time spent in the waiting room before being seen. The Basques have to wait the shortest time until they are seen, (more than half have to wait less than fifteen minutes) while 1 in 5 people in Extremadura can expect to wait 2 hours before seeing the doctor.
One aspect very much appreciated by citizens is the proximity of primary care centers.

More satisfied than in 2009
Despite waiting times citizens are generally satisfied with national health primary care. The thing most valued is accessibility (6 out of 10 Spaniards have a centre within 1 km of their home and 77% take less than 15 minutes to arrive), the health centre opening times, the comfort of the facilities and the possibility to make appointments online (69% say they can do this compared to only 33% who could do it five years ago).
What is worst valued is waiting time and the limited possibility to choose a family doctor, something more theoretical than real, according to the responses of those interviewed.
Overall citizens award national health primary care with a distinction.
Satisfaction has increased from previous surveys conducted by OCU in 2003 and 2009. Health professionals receive a rating of 76 out of 100 while the health centres receive a score of 70, in both cases more than the 72 and 64 points received in 2009.
Again, the differences between regions are significant with people in La Rioja, the Basque Country and Aragon feeling the most satisfied and citizens of the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Murcia and especially the Canary Islands being the most dissatisfied.

Emergencies average more than two hours.
In the emergency department, satisfaction is higher among those who went there for a serious problem.
The level of satisfaction with emergency departments decreases the milder the problem suffered.
The average time before being attended for the first time in the emergency department is 12 minutes and the average total time citizens spend in the emergency department is 151 minutes (2 and a half hours). One in five Catalans and Andalusians who went to the emergency department had to go back again for the same problem two weeks later.

For OCU this data shows that despite the increase in waiting time for treatment, citizens hold
primary and emergency care in the national health service in high regard. In particular they are satisfied with the professionals who look after their health.
OCU believes it is necessary to improve the quality of these services in order to promote their use by citizens. Good primary care is the most effective way to prevent
diseases, an early visit to the doctor prevents ailments from getting worse and thus complicating treatment. And it is certainly much more effective than deterrents
such as co-payment which has proved ineffective in the countries in which it operates.

For more information (media) Eva Jimenez Tel. 917 226 061 prensa@ocu.org