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Date Published: 21/03/2023

ARCHIVED - Busy Murcia health centres can now open for afternoon consultations

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The extra services will apply to Region of Murcia clinics where the delay exceeds four days

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Busy Murcia health centres can now open for afternoon consultations

Health centres in the Region of Murcia with a waiting list of more than four days to see a family doctor or paediatrician will now be able to open for afternoon consultations if they choose.

The measure has just been signed off on this week but was originally agreed upon at the end of last year. Since a Ministry of Health decree means that doctors in certain centres will be limited to 35 daily patients, the voluntary extra hours will hopefully avoid serious delays at the busier clinics.

GPs who want to add the four-hour consultations in the evenings will need to do so outside of their normal working day and will be paid 244 euros.

The Murcian Health Service (SMS) has explained that during these additional stints, doctors will be expected to attend to a total of 22 patients and will have to stick to a strict schedule: one patient booked in every 10 minutes and a 20-minute break after the first two hours.

The afternoon shifts will begin at 3.30pm.

Furthermore, medical professionals will have to prove that the demand at their health centre warrants the extra hours. In the seven day period prior to applying for the extension, doctors must have scheduled 30 daily face-to-face appointments and up to five urgent ones. This is reduced to 20 regular patients and up to five urgent appointments in the case of paediatricians.

All of these actions are aimed at limiting the quotas for family physicians to a maximum of 1,250 health cards per doctor and 900 for paediatricians, while still providing the necessary resources so that waiting lists don’t get out of control.

In other news: Murcia city buses vote for indefinite strike from Easter

Image: Archive

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