Editorial: El País

• Healthcare waiting lists in Spain are worsening, despite being a recurring theme in electoral promises.
• By the end of December, there were almost 850,000 patients waiting for a surgical intervention, and the average waiting time has increased from 112 days to 128.
• Despite the increase in healthcare activity, it is not enough to meet all the needs of the growing protected population.
• The management of healthcare is a competence of the autonomous communities, and their differences in management quality result in large disparities between communities.

Conclusion: Urgent measures are required to address the issue of Spain's increasing healthcare waiting lists, as failure to do so can jeopardize the legitimacy of the public health system, one of the pillars of social cohesion.

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