Seventy-two GPs for every 100,000 people in the Balearics.

Seventy-two GPs for every 100,000 people in the Balearics. | Jaume Morey

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma26/01/2019 21:20
TW

Almost 14% of the 5,300 doctors in the Balearics are aged 60 or over, meaning that they are getting close to retirement age. This figure was one among many which was highlighted during a meeting last week between the national minister for health, María Luisa Carcedo, and representatives of regional health services. The minister suggested that voluntary delay of retirement could be a short-term solution for regional health services facing a shortage of doctors.

The ministry is looking at means of addressing a personnel shortfall that regional health services are facing. For the whole of the country, there is a shortage of some 4,000 specialist doctors, and in this regard, the Balearics are right at the bottom of the regional list. (Ceuta and Melilla, the two north African cities, rank lower than the Balearics.)

Nationally, the average number of GPs is 97 for every 100,000 inhabitants. For specialists, it is 216 (per 100,000). In the Balearics there are 72 GPs and 180 specialists for every 100,000 people.