According to a report by CNN, last month, 1,677,858 users did not have a family doctor assigned to them, that is, an increase of 24,434 compared to the 1,653,424 registered in September. The number of people in this situation has been increasing since June, that is, for four consecutive months, but remains below the 1,757,747 registered in May. If the comparison is made with the same period last year, this is an increase of 25% (in October 2022 there were 1,342,472 people without a family doctor).

At a time when doctors' refusal to work more overtime, in addition to the mandatory 150 annual hours, is putting the NHS under pressure, with more than 30 emergency services facing constraints, and with winter approaching (which could put extra pressure) those responsible have urged citizens to call the SNS24 line first, before going to the emergency room, or going to health centres.

The number of people without a family doctor has been increasing in recent years due to retirements and the NHS's lack of capacity to attract specialists. The problem has already been taken on by the (still) Prime Minister and the Minister of Health, who, at the end of October, admitted hiring and contracting with the social sector. Even so, Manuel Pizarro highlighted that the arrival of several professionals at retirement age will cause difficulties in this area until the end of next year.