The Primary Care Pediatrics in Andalusia: situation analysis and proposals for the future

The pediatricians who work in the first level of care agree with experts that countries with a high quality Primary Health Care (AP), have better health rates, are more efficient and distribute health resources more equitably among the population.

Primary Care Pediatrics in our region has at present a shortage of professionals, which is more pronounced in rural areas. This poses a threat to the current model of child care, relegating to the background such important issues as the quality of pediatric care, family expectations and the health professionals’ opinions.

The pediatrician has been isolated within the Primary Care Teams and has hardly received support from other professionals of it. It is necessary to get "professional teams" that share a population in a defined geographical environment, that the structure and organization of health centers enable temporal and physical spaces for team work and that progress on current formulas of demand management are made, involving each of the team members in responding to the demands of citizenship.

The AP Pediatrics should aim its practice to the quality of care and to the achieving of goals. Criteria and indicators of quality and good practice should be established.