Spain's dependency waiting lists cause 13,500 deaths in early 2026

In the first five months of 2026, more than 265,000 people were on Spain’s dependency‑care waiting lists and 13,503 died while awaiting assessment or recognised benefits – a death every 16 minutes on average. The total backlog grew by 7,293 since the start of the year, reaching 265,503 cases. Of those, 110,108 (41.5%) are still awaiting an assessment and 155,352 (58.2%) have recognised rights but have not received the promised service.

The Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services reports that 6,940 deaths occurred while applicants awaited assessment and another 6,563 died before receiving the benefits they were entitled to. Regionally, 929 deaths were recorded in the Basque Country, 4,342 in Catalonia and 2,204 in Andalusia. The average processing time for a case is 320 days, well beyond the legally mandated 180‑day limit; the Basque Country’s average is 131 days.

The association criticises the Ministry’s method of counting waiting‑list cases and notes the absence of the €600 million extra funding provided under the 2021‑2023 “Plan de Choque”, which it says has slowed procedures and reduced service quality.