The Spanish “Instituto de Investigaciones Fiscales” (Tax Research Institute), an independent organism for research and advice on matters relating to public expenditure has recently reported a large survey on the attitude of the Spanish population towards the quality of the public services. Over 70% of respondents rated the care received in public health as very good. Moreover, despite the wide range of private healthcare, public attention has been used by more than 90% of the population.

These data are a source of optimism to widespread disappointment that is felt among physicians working in public health and demonstrate that people perceive the effort we are making in times of economic crisis.