Health centres with no appointments until October due to summer schedule

No doctor's appointment at the health centre until almost October

Can you get a doctor's appointment at a health centre in Spain today? Less and less often. The summer schedule drags on, staff holidays overlap with sick leave, and the result is one thousands of patients already know: early-morning calls that find no slot, closed appointment books and, at best, an appointment that lands in October. The figures clinics are working with don't lie: on average, four doctors are on holiday per centre, a number compounded by absences on temporary sick leave, leaving staffing at bare minimum levels.

How many doctors are left on duty in August

The complaint repeats itself in every province, and it's not just a feeling: the health services themselves admit that summer reinforcements are worthless when sick leave piles up. One patient, quoted in various accounts, sums it up with a phrase that hurts for how literal it is: "If you're not calling before 8, you can't get an appointment." By nine in the morning, the day's slots are already gone.

The problem goes beyond the occasional wait. One particular case perfectly illustrates the chronic rotation: at a single centre, of nine assigned doctors only four or five are usually present, the patient has seen around five different professionals in three years and no longer even knows who their doctor is supposed to be. Continuity of care — having a doctor who knows you — has become a seasonal luxury.

Who's to blame: staffing, sick leave or demand

Here the disagreement begins. Some argue the problem is structural: there aren't enough professionals, and those there are accumulate months of strain until sick leave is the only way out. On the other side, critics point to how the system is used, with a growing number of patients straining a primary care system that was never sized for this population. And suspicions surface, without proof, about doctors on sick leave who might be working in the private sector. Unverified: that's an accusation, not a fact.

What almost all these accounts share is the same thing: the appointment book simply has no more to give. With four fewer doctors per centre and no swift replacements, the waiting list stretches on its own until October. Enjoy the summer.