The best way to know the needs of a sector is by approaching its environment. Talking to people who work in that sector and also with those who receive their services. Especially when it comes to something as human as healthcare. The new Government headed by Pedro Sanchez has placed the anesthetist at the head of this ministry Monica Garcia. He is a good choice, since it is clear that he knows the sector. The medical associations have already expressed what the healthcare challenges which he should face during this term. But the truth is that you have to take something into account and that is that not all the powers are yours.
Competencies in health are delegated to the Autonomous Communities, so there can be many differences between the needs of some and others. Therefore, in Hypertextual We have contacted healthcare workers and patients from different autonomous communities and asked them what the challenges of Healthcare are for them.
The answers, certainly, are very much in line with the healthcare challenges that the associations expose. But it is clear which are the most compelling requests, since there are many issues that are repeated.
Neglected services, one of the main challenges in healthcare
Paula It is not a healthcare provider, but it is a user of public healthcare in Castile and León. When asked what the challenges of healthcare are for her, he did not hesitate to refer to the mental health. Although it also refers to other equally neglected services. “The mental health service would be a priority and then early care and rehabilitation and waiting lists and all of this can be solved in one way: more budget and more places.”
Albert is patient in Andalusia And what about Paula adds optometry and dentistry. “These are very expensive things that many people cannot afford or find it difficult to go without money for a month and the state should help with that.”
For its part, Juananother Andalusianconsider that the pharmacies They should also be part of the primary care framework.
There are also complaints about this among health workers. Victoria is a psychiatrist in a hospital Castilla la Mancha and, logically, it is very aware of the lack of personnel in hospitals and primary care centers in matters of mental health. “The abandonment we have is enormous and very severe.”
Early care is also one of the great concerns of Irene, who practices as a pediatrician in Madrid. “A great need is to obtain a Early attention quality throughout the country, a maximum and equal vaccination schedule for all autonomous communities.”
It is clear that one of the great challenges of Spanish healthcare is to supply its patients with enough specialists in mental health, dentistry, early care or optometry, among others. Neglect these aspects It only creates inequalities in health, since people with greater economic resources will be able to take care of their health in greater depth than the rest.
Quality primary care is an emergency
Both healthcare providers and patients mostly agree on the importance of having quality primary care.
Manuel He is a doctor specialized in nuclear medicine in Andalusia. For him, one of the main challenges of healthcare in Spain is “for primary care to be a reality and not a waiting list”. Irene also refers to the need for a reorganization of primary care, in the same way as Alberto, ophthalmologist from Cataloniawho points out the dismantling of primary care as the main problem of Spanish healthcare.
Eloísa is a nurse in Andalusia and also believes that the main challenge of healthcare is to safeguard primary care. “It is the basis of the system and they cannot crush it any more or we will all fall like a domino,” he says. “Primary school and community health It should be like an animal in danger of extinction, protected at all costs and cared for like the treasure that it is, because a good primary school makes people have better health in the long run and always saves money on specialization.”
Alicia, Madrid nursebelieves that it would be necessary to “require a minimum of compliance in Service Portfolios to health services that guarantee equity and equality among Spaniards”
Of course, patients, as the main users of primary care, are also aware of the problems caused by the deterioration of primary care and they make it known. Mariafor example, is a public health user in Andalusia and demands that patients be able to decision about your appointments. Williamalso from Andalusia, is convinced that with improvements in primary care “the hospital and emergency pressure”. And like them, many other people, when surveyed about the challenges of healthcare in Spain, think about primary care first.
More professionals are needed
Health professionals are suffocated by the workload they constantly face. And the users are the ones who suffer the consequences. Therefore, this is also one of the most talked about healthcare challenges.
Manuel, the Andalusian specialist in nuclear medicine, speaks of a saturation of both services and workers. Irene, the pediatrician, remembers that the situation is causing a drain of sanitary to other countries, in search of better conditions.
They are saturated and it is something that does not go unnoticed by patients. Javi is a public health user in Andalusia and note one widespread lack of staff, in all services. Another Andalusian, Star, believes that “it is necessary to stop paying private entities because the services do not arrive, to pay more staff, especially in primary care, which is the line that prevents the saturation of hospital services.”
And along the same lines that Estrella thinks Maria (fictitious name), Madrid. She claims that toilets should be better paid and with exclusivity contract and claims that “anything that is generated from the public system goes to the public system and not to private pockets.”
In a more specific way, Luisalso a user of the Andalusian health, thinks that the way of prepare the templates and hire the staff.
Another health challenge that is essential: health education
In social networks, the dispute between healthcare workers and patients is very recurrent, about what the reasons to go to the emergency room.
However, the weight of a problem that actually comes from the administration of healthcare is left to fall on everyone. And here we find two great challenges of healthcare. On the one hand, the aforementioned lack of personnel which, together with the deterioration of primary care, causes a burden in the emergency room that could be avoided if these two issues were resolved.
But, on the other hand, we also encounter another challenge that has been commented on by two of the healthcare companies that have participated in this article. Both Victoria and Heloísa emphasize the importance of good health education. The first is sure that with good health education everything would work much better and the second believes that, with it, the population’s trust in health workers would be restored and the “harassment and demolition” to which they are continually exposed.
That is, if the population understood the protocols, they would not only be much more empowered in their situation. They could also better empathize with the role of health workers.
The important role of nurses
All people who work in a healthcare center are important. The figure of the nurse is essential and that is why they also demand improvements in their conditions. For example, Alicia believes that nursing should become category A1which approves these professionals as optional health personnel.
As for Heloísa, she believes that there should be better control of the specialization of nurses. “The specialists are everywhere except in their positions because they are covered by people without investment in training. It is problematic in every way, for the nurses, for the economy and for the population that misses out on that extra care.”
In summary, what we need in Spain is public healthcare, with strong primary care, that treats its health workers well and empowers users. We need universal healthcare, without inequalities for economic reasons, in which all areas of health are covered. That is the healing we deserve. The challenges of healthcare in Spain should revolve around, one day, we can truly say that we have managed to get there.