ARCHIVED - Face to face appointments with doctors will resume across Andalusia from March 2nd
The downward trend in coronavirus infections means that health centres can resume face to face appointments with GPs and nurses, though telephone appointments are also here to stay.
When the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown hit Spain almost a year ago, it suddenly became impossible to see GPs and nurses as doctors’ surgeries went into emergency mode and routine appointments became phone calls. Now, the Andalusian regional government has at last announced that face to face appointments will once again be possible as of 2 March.
The authorities consider that the downward trend in new coronavirus cases and the lessening of pressure on the regional public health system mean that, in some cases, doctors and nurses will be able to see their patients face to face. Strict safety measures such as temperature checks and capacity limits will have to be maintained, however, and telephone appointments will continue (and may indeed be here to stay) for routine things like renewing prescriptions.
There have been many complaints during the pandemic about the impossibility of seeing a doctor about anything other than coronavirus, and doctors’ associations have expressed concerns over late diagnosis of serious conditions. Earlier this month, for example, the Spanish Medical Oncology Society warned that about one in five cancer cases in Spain haven’t yet been diagnosed, either because of delays or because people are scared to go to see a doctor for fear of catching Covid-19.