More patients in Malaga province are waiting for an operation, but the delays are decreasing

The latest update on the waiting lists situation by the Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS) public health service in the Andalucía region has turned up something of a paradox: there are increasingly more Malaga province residents waiting for surgery or a first outpatient appointment for various medical specialities, but the average delay in days for those affected is falling. This has been the trend, at least, from December 2024 to June 2025, the latest data made public this Monday by the regional health ministry.

The world of statistics is vast and complex and, despite public perceptions of congestion in the main public hospitals, emergency services and health centres, the truth is that the regional ministry for health believes that the decrease in average waiting times in Malaga and Andalucía reflects a positive trend since the implementation of the Junta's 'health guarantee plan' for the surgical waiting list in January 2024 and the specific plan to streamline outpatient consultations in January 2025. Interestingly, the president of the Junta, Juanma Moreno, reported in the regional parliament last week that Andalucía had risen above the Spanish average in healthcare spending per capita per year , rising from 969 euros in 2014 to 1,764 euros in 2025, with the national figure for this year being 1,757 euros.

As such, there were 37,030 patients on the waiting list for surgery in Malaga in June 2025, a figure that has increased by 5.2% compared to December 2024, the penultimate figure published in the series. This was made public yesterday by the SAS ahead of the update on the lists from the Ministry of Health in central government.

The average time on the waiting list has fallen from 161 to 152 days, although the number of Malaga residents who have been waiting more than 365 days for surgery has also increased: now at 5,070 as of June compared to 4,674 on 24 December.

Regarding patients pending waiting for a guaranteed procedure, that is, those whose operations are covered by a decree that commits to a series of maximum waiting times (90, 120 or 180 days, depending on the type of operation), the number on those waiting lists has also increased from 18,570 people in December 2024 to 19,995 in June 2025. Nevertheless, the average delay has made a significant drop from 87 to 81 days. Furthermore, this figure is even more significant when compared with December 2023, when the response time was 98 days, thus falling by 17 days. Thus, Malaga has consolidated its position as the province with the lowest waiting list delay for guaranteed surgery at 81 days.

The average delay in surgical waiting lists has decreased in all public hospitals in Malaga: from 133 to 119 days in Antequera, from 91 to 66 in the Axarquia area, from 102 to 87 in the Serranía de Ronda, from 136 to 128 along the Costa del Sol, from 232 to 220 in the Regional University Hospital in Malaga city and from 109 to 97 in the case of the Virgen de la Victoria University Clinic, also in the city. However, the trend is similar to what has happened across the province: the number of patients waiting for an operation is on the rise. In the case of the Regional, the figure has risen from 13,486 to 15,137. At the Costa del Sol hospital, the number has risen from 5,900 to 6,275, although at the Clínico it has dropped from 9,603 to 9,264, making it the only exception.

Regarding waiting lists for outpatient consultations with specialists, 211,554 Malaga residents are waiting for these, 3% more than in December 2024. Meanwhile, the waiting time has decreased from 132 days back then to 114 days, meaning a drop of 18 days in just six months. This has been possible, according to the Junta, thanks to "the reorganisation of schedules, the prioritisation of first visits and improvements in the management of inter-consultations."

In the field of guaranteed surgeries, Andalucía recorded a total of 156,902 surgical procedures in the first half of this year, 86% of which were performed in publicly-run hospitals and other clinical centres, "consolidating this network as the main guarantor of surgical care". This effort has led to a reduction of 20,319 patients pending guaranteed treatment, representing a 14.2% decrease, and a reduction of 30,074 patients who had passed the maximum guaranteed deadline, a 56.7% decrease. Likewise, the average delay has gone from 150 days in December 2023 to 108 days in June 2025, a reduction of 42 days.

In outpatient clinics, the trend between December 2024 and June 2025 also reflects a significant improvement. During this period, the total number of pending patients has been reduced by almost 14,000 and the number of overdue appointments has fallen by over 40,000. The average delay, which was 150 days in December, has been shortened to 127 days in June, a reduction of 23 days in just six months. "This progress has been possible thanks to the reorganisation of schedules, the prioritisation of first visits and improvements in the management of interconsultations, while activity has increased with more than 8.2 million consultations carried out in the first half of the year," stated the Junta.

The regional ministry of health and consumer affairs has stressed that these advances "are the result of the commitment and efforts of healthcare professionals, together with the measures to reorganise resources promoted by the SAS, and has reaffirmed its determination to continue working to reduce waiting lists and offer patients quality care in the shortest possible time."