According to Sebastián Franquis, the actual surgical waiting list exceeds 40,665 patients, with nearly 9,000 more cases hidden for over 1,000 days.
The spokesperson for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, Sebastián Franquis, accused the Canary Islands Government on Tuesday of placing public healthcare in a state of “precarity, both in terms of care and employment,” and of manipulating official statistics regarding surgical waiting lists, describing them as “immoral, unjust, and indecent.”
Government Accusations
During his speech in the regional Parliament, Franquis asserted that “this administration lies, deceives, and manipulates,” emphasising that it is the patients and healthcare professionals who “suffer the consequences of this political strategy aimed at glossing over figures and concealing the suffering of thousands of Canarians.”
Scandal Surrounding Waiting Lists
According to the Socialist spokesperson, the real surgical waiting list stands at 40,665 patients, the worst figure in the last decade and 27.5% higher than the official published data. He also raised concerns about the existence of 8,776 patients excluded from the statistics, many of whom have been waiting for over 1,000 days.
“The average wait time is three times longer than reported,” Franquis highlighted, warning that all hospitals across the archipelago are facing a sustained increase in waiting patients, particularly non-capital centres, which are “double punished” due to a lack of resources and the referral of patients to unstructured waiting lists.
Among the most alarming details, the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (Tenerife) has 3,724 hidden cases, while the Insular Materno Infantil University Hospital Complex in Gran Canaria reports the longest average wait time at 361 days. Furthermore, 75% of patients are waiting more than 180 days, with 33% waiting over a year, and 189 patients exceeding 1,000 days.
Support for Healthcare Professionals
Franquis also expressed the PSOE’s solidarity with healthcare professionals who are living with tremendous uncertainty regarding the process of job stabilisation, particularly doctors, who do not deserve the mistreatment they are currently enduring.
“The deterioration of public healthcare is not only reflected in interminable waiting lists but also in the demotivation of those who uphold the system with their daily efforts. The manipulation of data does not enhance care; it merely seeks political gains,” he added.
Immoral and Indecent Strategy
The spokesperson denounced that in the months leading up to the publication of official statistics, hundreds of patients are redirected to unstructured waiting lists to deliberately distort the perception of the healthcare system. “Each hidden number represents a real patient, suffering with pain, anguish, and violated rights. Healthcare should not be hidden; it should be defended,” he asserted.
Socialist Initiatives
Franquis announced that the PSOE will present initiatives aimed at ending the administrative mistreatment of patients, including the publication of unstructured waiting lists and a legislative proposal to ensure guarantees of maximum waiting times in specialised healthcare.
“The PSOE will always stand beside those who suffer in silence. In the face of lies and glossing over, we demand transparency, rigor, and a commitment to the health of the public,” he concluded.
