Some 20pc say health service has improved

SOME 20.33 percent of Balearic residents think that the health service on the islands has improved since it has been managed by the autonomous regional governments and not by the State, as opposed to 50.25 percent who think that it is “the same”, according to the national Government's “Health Barometer 2005”. According to the figures published by the national Ministry of Health, only 6.07 percent of Balearic residents think that the health service has deteriorated in the hands of the autonomous governments. However some 23.35 percent declined to express an opinion one way or the other.
The autonomous regions where the residents think that the health service is more efficient under the management of the autonomous governments are as follows. the Basque region leads with some 66.58 percent of residents positive about the change, followed by Navarra with 63.87 percent.
However, at the other end of the scale, only 6.38 percent of residents in Asturias and 10.52 percent in La Rioja consider that health care has improved with the transfer of management powers from the national Government to the autonomous administrations.