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[Neuropediatric practice in Spanish hospitals: supply and demand]
M Tomás Vila1, J Gisbert Mestre, O Peñalver Giner
1Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital Francesc de Borja de Gandía. Valencia. España. mitomas@saludalia.com
Background:
No reports have been published of country-wide neuropediatric practice.
Objective:
To determine neuropediatric practice in Spanish hospitals by studying supply and demand throughout the country.
Materials And Methods:
A survey was performed of Spanish hospitals in 2001. Private hospitals with no state funding and hospitals without a pediatric unit were excluded. The parameter used to study supply was the existence of neuropediatric beds and that used to study demand was the annual consultation rate per 1000 inhabitants aged from 0 to 14 years.
Results:
A questionnaire was sent to 277 hospitals and 106 (38.27 %) responded. Sixty percent of Spanish hospitals had neuropediatric beds. The mean neuropediatric consultation rate was 31 consultations per 1000 inhabitants aged from 0 to 14 years.
Conclusions:
In Spain, the supply of neuropediatric services is fairly widespread. The greater the number of pediatric beds, the higher the probability of neuropediatric beds. However, 42 % of small hospitals provides this service. In contrast with previously reported results on morbidity in primary care, our results show that most children with neurological processes are referred to hospital.