The dependency system's waiting list in Spain has seen a significant increase, adding 7,293 additional applicants in the first five months of the year. According to data from the Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services, a total of 265,503 people are currently waiting to receive a benefit or to be assessed for system access. Of these, 110,108 are awaiting initial assessment (41.5%) and 155,352 are waiting for benefits and services already recognized for them (58.2%).
The most alarming figure is the 13,503 applicants who have died during this period without receiving the due attention. This situation translates to one death every 16 minutes, according to the association's analysis, which uses official data up to May 31 from the State Observatory on Dependency. Over the two decades of the dependency law's validity, it is estimated that nearly one million people have died on waiting lists.
The methodology used by the Ministry of Social Rights, which only considers those exceeding the legal 180-day deadline as on the waiting list, has been questioned by the entity, labeling it "triumphalist" and denouncing a lack of transparency.
The association attributes the system's deterioration to the lack of sustained budgetary increase following the end of the Shock Plan, which provided 600 million euros annually between 2021 and 2023. They argue that this situation is causing a significant slowdown in the system, both in the increase of waiting lists and in the trend towards lower-cost ('low cost') benefits and services.
Social services directors emphasize that, despite broad social consensus and the urgency of dependency care, after 20 years the law remains a "pending right." They criticize that bureaucratic procedures, insufficient benefit amounts, low service intensity, and territorial inequalities create an ineffective "low cost" system, compounded by deficient funding.
