Abstract

GALINDO ORTEGO, Gisela et al. A day at the family physician’s surgery between the waves of the pandemic. Rev Clin Med Fam [online]. 2022, vol.15, n.1, pp.47-54.  Epub Apr 04, 2022. ISSN 2386-8201.

Organisational changes made during the COVID-19 pandemic were seen as an opportunity to develop valuable and resolutive tasks, to prioritise interventions that have proven effective and to stop doing what we should never do. After several waves, visits to Primary Care providers have increased significantly, mainly for non-clinical reasons (almost 60%), and among these, consultations with little value, which are banal or poorly justified. The repetition of referral requests due to cancellations and the rejection of appointments from second level care, the demand for medical reports and certificates for multiple non-medical issues, temporary work disability due to COVID-19 close contacts and queries related to the COVID-19 vaccination are common. These changes have often been seen as a lack of accessibility, increasing aggressive attitudes towards health workers. Family doctors reveal powerlessness, deception, a lack of time, overflow, the feeling of not working as a doctor and that there is no way out. Primary Care is near to collapse due to these non-clinical tasks that do not leave time for patients who are truly ill. Politicians have not shown a will to increase the budget for Primary Care, which the WHO advised be strengthened in order to deal with the pandemic. It has shown to achieve better results in terms of health equity and efficiency, and must be the guarantee of the economic and social health system sustainability.

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