Madrid cuts health waiting times and records over 40,000 birth‑care benefits in first half of 2026

Community of Madrid waiting list reduction birth care benefit 2026 health statistics Social Security

The Community of Madrid reduced waiting times for key health services during the first half of 2026. The average wait for a first‑consultation fell 14.2% to 59.6 days, diagnostic and therapeutic tests dropped 9.2% to 51.2 days, and surgical queues fell about 7%. These improvements coincided with an 18.6% rise in overall health‑care activity, delivering roughly 100,000 more interventions, consultations and tests in June than at the start of the year.

The accelerated activity helped shrink the structural waiting list by 35,522 patients, from 990,185 in January to 954,663 in June. Meanwhile, the Social Security system processed 40,914 birth‑and‑child‑care benefit permits in Madrid, split almost evenly between mothers (19,245) and fathers (19,888). The total cost of these benefits exceeded €439 million. The expanded benefit, introduced in July 2025, now provides up to 19 weeks of paid leave (32 weeks for single‑parent families).

Entities

Community of Madrid · Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social · Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS) · Madrid · Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration (Spain) · National Institute of Social Security (INSS) · Navarre · Spanish Government · Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Security Social and Migration

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 2 SOURCES] The total cost of those birth‑care benefits in Madrid exceeded €439 million in the first half of 2026. aqui.madrid · gacetinmadrid.com
[● 6 SOURCES] Overall health‑care activity in Madrid rose 18.6% in the first half of 2026. www.extremaduradiario.com · www.diariodemallorca.es · www.informacion.es · www.economiadigital.es · www.elcorreoweb.es · +1 more
[● 6 SOURCES] Approximately 100,000 more interventions, consultations and diagnostic tests were performed in June 2026 than at the start of the year in Madrid. www.extremaduradiario.com · www.diariodemallorca.es · www.informacion.es · www.economiadigital.es · www.elcorreoweb.es · +1 more
[● 6 SOURCES] Surgical waiting list in Madrid decreased by about 7% during the first half of 2026. www.extremaduradiario.com · www.diariodemallorca.es · www.informacion.es · www.economiadigital.es · www.elcorreoweb.es · +1 more
[● 6 SOURCES] The structural waiting list in Madrid fell by 35,522 patients, from 990,185 in January to 954,663 in June 2026. www.extremaduradiario.com · www.diariodemallorca.es · www.informacion.es · www.economiadigital.es · www.elcorreoweb.es · +1 more
[● 2 SOURCES] Madrid processed 40,914 birth and child‑care benefit permits between January and June 2026. aqui.madrid · gacetinmadrid.com
[● 6 SOURCES] Average wait for diagnostic and therapeutic tests in Madrid dropped 9.2% to 51.23 days between January and June 2026. www.extremaduradiario.com · www.diariodemallorca.es · www.informacion.es · www.economiadigital.es · www.elcorreoweb.es · +1 more
[● 6 SOURCES] Average wait for a first consultation in Madrid fell 14.2% to 59.59 days between January and June 2026. www.extremaduradiario.com · www.diariodemallorca.es · www.informacion.es · www.economiadigital.es · www.elcorreoweb.es · +1 more