Looking for a doctor. The National Health System (SNS) needs of 10,000 more family doctors to guarantee generational change, according to a document from the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (Semfyc). These figures would place the assigned population ratio at European Union (EU) levels.
For this reason, Semfyc has requested an investment of 3,000 million euros spread over four years. This amount would be divided into two items, one of 2,755 million euros for new contracts in primary care, of which 1,456 million would be allocated to these Family and Community Medicine places, and another of 245 million euros for the fight against precariousness contractual.
Specifically, Semfyc proposes the hiring of 7,000 more family doctors to be able to reach 36,787 places for Family and Community Medicine in primary care clinics in the next four years. This measure would make it possible to reduce the population ratio assigned by family doctors to 1,000 patients per consultation, since the average ratio in Spain currently exceeds 1,300 patients.
The SNS intends to reduce the assigned population ratio to 1,000 patients per consultation
According to the model that society now presents, in order to respond to the health needs of the population, a new composition is also proposed for the primary care teams, so that for each position in Family and Community Medicine there is a position in Nursing.
“The primary care model to which the current management system has led us does not allow us to consider care that goes beyond a model of desk medicine and bureaucratization of medical professionals”, stressed the president of Semfyc, María Fernández .
“The reduction of the assigned population and the constitution of this vision of teams would contribute to responding faster and with more time in consultation to the health needs of the population, but also to better monitor preventive or community health activities. ”, Fernandez concluded.