Spaniards wait an average of 10 days for a GP appointment as waiting-list pessimism climbs four points in a year

Access to primary care

Seven out of ten people who visited a family doctor within Spain's National Health System (SNS) had to wait more than one day because no earlier appointment was available, according to the first wave of the 2026 Health Barometer published on Monday. The average delay reached 10.27 days. Only 21.8% of patients were seen on the same day or the day after requesting a consultation. The survey, conducted by the Ministry of Health together with the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS), is based on 2,602 interviews carried out in March 2026 and represents the first of three planned waves.

The barometer confirms that primary care remains the main entry point to the system: 83.9% of the adult population consulted a GP in the previous twelve months, 94.7% of them within the public sector. Despite the access difficulties, 84% of public primary-care users rated the care they received positively. Nursing staff earned the highest trust and safety score at 8.16 out of 10, while doctors received 7.98.

Waiting-list perception worsens

Public perception of waiting lists has deteriorated. The survey finds that 38.3% of citizens believe waiting lists in the public health system have worsened over the past twelve months, a jump of four percentage points compared with a year earlier. Another 43% think the problem has stayed the same, meaning 81% see no improvement. Only 10% believe the situation has got better. For specialist consultations, 69.4% of respondents described waiting times as "barely or not at all acceptable."

Primary care continues to be the main entry point to the health system.

The overall rating for the public health system stands at 6.16 out of 10, a slight recovery from the 6.02 recorded in the previous barometer but still well below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, 72% of the population had a favourable view of the system; the latest figure is 53.5%. The ministry cautioned that the data are provisional until the full three-wave sample is completed.

The mental-health bottleneck

Mental-health access emerges as a critical pressure point. The barometer shows that 18.2% of citizens needed to consult a professional for psychological or emotional problems in the last year. Within the public system, 43.1% of those who sought help ended up in their family doctor's office, while only 31% reached a psychiatrist and just 16.9% saw a psychologist. The average waiting time for a first specialist mental-health appointment after a GP referral is 90 days. Half of patients were seen within two months, but 5.6% waited more than six months.

Mental health remains the great unfinished business of the SNS, even though indicators have been warning of deterioration for years.

Hospital and emergency care

Hospitalisation and emergency services receive stronger marks. In the last year, 13.5% of adults were admitted to hospital, 82.3% of them in a public facility. Almost half of admissions (49.5%) were scheduled for surgery or a diagnostic test, while the other half were due to illness or an urgent health problem; 4.4% were for childbirth. The public gives hospital admission and care a score of 7.13 out of 10. Emergency services accessed via 061/112 scored even higher at 7.38. More than half of the population (53.1%) visited an emergency department in the previous twelve months, and 81.5% of those visits were to public facilities.

Specialist consultations and diagnostics

Specialist hospital consultations were used by 57.4% of adults in the preceding year, with 81.7% of those visits occurring in the public sector. User satisfaction with specialist care reached 81.9%, with the highest marks going to the information received about health problems and the trust conveyed by medical staff. Among diagnostic tests, colonoscopy carries the longest reported wait at 129 days. For patients referred from primary care to a specialist, 21.3% waited more than six months, 15.2% waited 15 days, 14.9% waited two months, and 14.3% waited three months.