The Government Council has been informed of the balance of the Health Guarantee Plan, launched by the Ministry of Health and Consumption a year ago, which has resulted in a halving of the surgical waiting list for guaranteed procedures that exceeded the deadline, exactly by 47.59%. This plan, which includes monitoring the activity of operating rooms for better utilization, care continuities, and agreements, has allowed a total of 404,485 surgical interventions to be carried out in 2024, an increase of 11.1% compared to 2023 (40,652 more people).
In this way, the number of patients outside the deadline has been reduced from over 53,000 to less than 30,000. Specifically, as of March 7, 2025, there are 124,127 Andalusian patients on the surgical waiting list, of which 27,784 have exceeded the guaranteed waiting time, compared to 53,014 in this situation in December 2023, when there were a total of 142,507 patients. Therefore, the waiting list has been reduced by 25,230 people. In percentage terms, this means that currently less than 25% (24.43%) of patients on the surgical waiting list were outside the deadline in December 2024, compared to 37.20% in this situation a year earlier.
Furthermore, in the first two months of 2025, 70,285 people underwent surgery, 5.61% more than in the same period of 2024 (3,731 more operations), of which 30,727 patients were awaiting a guaranteed procedure that had exceeded the maximum waiting time. This means that the public healthcare system in Andalusia performs an average of 1,236 operations per day, with 85% carried out in public hospitals with their own resources, and only 15% in contracted facilities.
Likewise, the waiting list for surgical interventions within the guaranteed deadline has been reduced. Between January and February 2025, 49,407 people underwent a guaranteed procedure, almost 2% more than in the same period of 2024, reflecting a continuous improvement in the management of the surgical waiting list, especially for guaranteed procedures. At the same time, the average waiting times for a surgical intervention have been reduced by 30 days, decreasing from 150 days of delay in December 2023 to 120 days in February 2025.
The Andalusian Health Service (SAS) has published on its website the waiting list data for December 2024, showing significant progress not only in reducing waiting lists for surgical interventions but also for external consultations. In 2024, the activity increased with 378,971 more patients seen in hospital consultations compared to 2023, representing a 2.54% increase.
Health professionals from the Andalusian Health Service, in the operating room.
The SAS attended 15,298,577 consultations of this type in 2024, compared to 14,919,606 in 2023, while also seeing a 3.3% increase in requests for these types of consultations, reflecting the tremendous effort made by SAS professionals to handle more consultations while meeting increased demand. Thus, despite the rise in demand, there has been a slight reduction in the total number of patients pending, decreasing from 873,266 in December 2023 to 866,248 in the same month of 2024.
To improve and alleviate this waiting list for external consultations, the SAS is working on a plan to enhance accessibility, a strategy aimed at reducing waiting times for initial consultations in hospitals and ensuring faster and more efficient care for citizens. To achieve this goal, the SAS will implement several lines of action, including administrative refinement, which will establish a monthly control of waiting lists; an increase in the number of consultations attended; and a reduction in absenteeism by citizens, which currently stands at around 20% for this type of consultations.
Management of appointments within 72 hours
On the other hand, the report by the Ministry of Health and Consumption also highlights that the new system for managing appointments within 72 hours, which was fully implemented in all of Andalusia by February 28, 2025, has enabled the handling of 171,531 appointment requests through external channels, with 99% of these requests being resolved in less than 72 hours. Out of the total requests received, 64.65% requested telephone demand appointments, with nearly 34% for treatment renewals, while 35.19% (16,799) sought in-person appointments and 0.15% were attended for other reasons.
This tool has not only allowed for more appointment requests to be managed, but also to attend to more patients in consultations. Therefore, the number of consultations conducted in January 2025 by family doctors in the 26 districts where this system was implemented was 2,657,022, including regular appointments, continuity of care appointments, and Digital District appointments. In January 2024, the total was 2,632,855, indicating that this year there were 24,167 more consultations, representing a 0.92% increase in activity.
Additionally, the consultation activity in Digital District in Andalusia since December 2, when this system was activated, has amounted to 11,221 appointments. The districts that piloted this strategy (Seville District, Córdoba District, and North Jaén District), as well as occasionally the South Seville District, were the ones that most required this tool. Subsequently, as all districts and areas of Andalusia adjusted their schedules to demand, the need for Digital District to attend to patients was no longer necessary, demonstrating the effectiveness of the measure.
To expand the availability of appointments within this accessibility strategy, the continuity of care in Primary Care has been reinforced, increasing from 4,335 appointments in January 2024 to 7,475 appointments in January 2025, meaning professionals have attended 72.4% more continuity care consultations. In addition to back-office support and continuity of care, this Primary Care Accessibility Plan includes limiting reserved slots in agendas to 7% for appointments at health centers and plans to open additional schedules and evaluation and reception circuits at health centers.
Furthermore, the role of Health Response in telemedicine care for patients with unmet demand has been strengthened to ensure a prompt response and patient support throughout the process until the required appointment is allocated. These measures, along with regular audits, guarantee proper use of schedules and an organized and effective response.