Average waiting time for surgery in Valencia more than doubles due to pandemic

Average waiting time for surgery in Valencia more than doubles due to pandemic.
THE surgical cost of the pandemic is being felt in Valencia as the average delay for surgery soars from 80 days in February 2020 – the last figure prior to the crisis – to 150 days in the same month this year.
And according to the Ministry of Health, the number of patients waiting for a consultation has increased by more than 8,500 patients during the last 12 months, a rise of almost 14 per cent, to exceed 70,000.
The increase in waiting times has been attributed to the fact hospitals focused their efforts on fighting the pandemic and operations were delayed to avoid the occupation of beds and post-anesthetic resuscitation places.
The impact of the virus is particularly reflected in the number of patients who have been waiting for more than six months to go through to the operating room, a figure that has gone from 10,155 to 24,154 during the pandemic – skyrocketing by 138 per cent.
All specialties and pathologies have been affected by the increase in delays, but some more so than others.
The average wait to be operated on by the Otolaryngology service has gone from 66 to 160 days; while if the operation is in Traumatology, the delay rises from 102 to 181 days with the backlog of patients to be treated already close to 22,000 patients).
By pathology, tonsil operations are already delayed by 190 days, up from 70 a year ago, while for arthroscopy, patients have to wait 170 days, compared to 86 in February 2020.

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