Up to 13 days' difference, depending on which doctor you see

If you need an appointment with a family doctor in Valladolid, don’t go by how long it takes your neighbor. At the Parquesol Health Center, depending on which doctor you’re assigned, the wait can be anywhere from one day to thirteen. And this isn’t an isolated case: a survey of 40 appointment requests for June 1 found that this back-and-forth with dates is common at other centers as well.

In Huerta del Rey, you might get an appointment for the next day or eight days from now. In Laguna de Duero, a patient who requested an appointment for June 1 found that the earliest available slot was June 16. At Las Delicias I, the range is from June 3 to June 11. Only at centers like La Victoria were patients able to choose a time on the same day.

Why is this happening? Because doctors’ schedules aren’t all equally full. One doctor might be completely booked, while another isn’t, but you can’t tell that when you book an appointment through Sacyl Conecta. The app, which the Regional Ministry markets as a tool for choosing a time slot, almost always just assigns you the first available appointment with your primary care physician. So, be careful.

If you have to wait several days, ask at the clinic if you can see another family doctor with a lighter caseload. They won’t always say yes, but it might work out. And check the app every now and then: sometimes last-minute appointments become available. You’ve got nothing to lose.

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