In September 2021, the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) mandated the elaboration of a report assessing the response of the Spanish National Health System (SNS) to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report was presented on December 2023.
The report revealed some gaps in preparedness, such as lack of strategic stock of material as well as weak information and early warning systems. In addition, it states that some errors in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic were due to already existing problems in the SNS, including deficiencies in epidemiological surveillance systems, structurally undersized human resources, the absence of comprehensive information systems at national level and lack of protocols in nursing homes. Likewise, although there was continuous communication between the central government and the Autonomous Communities, the CISNS was not as effective as it could have been to enhance the homogeneity of decisions across the territory.
The report also highlights actions that had a positive impact to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the setting-up of a single command at the beginning of the pandemic based in the Ministry of Health that centralized the response, the active involvement of the Military and Security Forces, the introduction of comprehensive social protection measures, the outstanding response of health and social care professionals, and the excellent deployment of the vaccination campaign.
More information (in Spanish), here: Evaluación del desempeño del Sistema Nacional de Salud español frente a la pandemia de COVID-19 [Assessment of the performance of the Spanish National Health System in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic] https://www.sanidad.gob.es/areas/alertasEmergenciasSanitarias/alertasActuales/nCov/documentos/EVALUACION_DEL_DESEMPENO_DEL_SNS_ESPANOL_FRENTE_A_LA_PANDEMIA_DE_COVID-19.pdf