fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › European Healthcare Efficiency › Article

Waiting times for healthcare in Europe: The worst countries ranked

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 772 words · By Servet Yanatma
European Healthcare Efficiency Public Health Policy Post-Pandemic Recovery
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about European Healthcare Efficiency

Waiting times for treatment in some European countries can run for years.

Claims checked 20
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center88%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Waiting times for treatment in some European countries can run for years.

Why it matters

This has real consequences for patients, experts warn.

Common ground

Euronews Health takes a close look at waiting times across several categories.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/06/03/waiting-times-for-healthcare-in-europ…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 20 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 10
check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
verified Verified 1
schedule
Claim 1: “followed by 32% in the UK, 29% in Sweden and 22% in Germany [waiting between two months and a year for a specialist]”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 2: “Among nine European countries tracked, waiting times for cataract surgery rose in 2024 compared to 2019 in seven of them, with only Poland and Hungary seeing a decline”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 3: “When those waiting six to seven days are also counted, the shares rise further: Sweden (30%), France (28%), the UK (27%) and Germany (26%).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence discusses general GP wait times in England and mentions a 20% figure for 2-7 days, but does not corroborate the specific percentages for Sweden, France, UK, and Germany as claimed.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — An extra 300,000 patients were left waiting more than four weeks to see a GP this autumn compared with last year.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/millions-waiting-month-gp-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Almost two million people in England had to wait more than 28 days in October, while a further 4.3 million had to wait more than two weeks. At the same time, the number of GPs has fallen to a record l…
https://www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/revealed-6931-patients-wait…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A further 6.6% of patients were seen within one day and 20% between two and seven days after booking. It is the first time that the NHS in England has collected and issued figures in this way and come…
https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k5221
schedule
Claim 4: “Poland was also over a year at 343 days [median wait for hip replacement]”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 5: “in the UK it is close to that level at 18% [waiting more than a week to see a GP]”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence mentions 18 weeks for routine treatment and 17% of appointments taking more than 2 weeks, but does not confirm the specific 18% figure for waiting more than one week to see a GP.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In January 2020, before coronavirus (COVID-19) began to impact on the UK, more than one in six patients were waiting more than 18 weeks for routine treatment.
https://www.health.org.uk/reports-and-analysis/briefings/ret…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The RCGP has raised concerns about the impact of poor access to general practice on patient safety, with data from the GP Patient Survey suggesting that people ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4031986/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Oct 25, 2024 ... In March 2024, 17% of appointments in GP practices took place more than 2 weeks after booking. The number of people waiting more than 2 weeks ...
https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/major-report/state-care/…
check_circle
Claim 6: “in Slovenia, patients face a wait of nearly two years — 667 days — just for a hip replacement”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web search results explicitly state that the median waiting time for a hip replacement in Slovenia in 2024 was 667 days, which is nearly two years.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2010 Tour of Slovenia (Slovene: Dirka po Sloveniji) was the 17th edition of the Tour of Slovenia, categorized as 2.1 stage race (UCI Europe Tour) held between 17 and 20 June 2010. The race consist…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Tour_of_Slovenia
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The men's individual recurve competition at the 2024 European Archery Championships will take place from 7 to 12 May in Essen, Germany.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_European_Archery_Champion…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The men's recurve archery competition at the 2009 World Games took place from 24 to 26 July 2009 at the Chengcing Lake in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_archery_at_the_2009_Worl…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 7: “Finland was close behind at 71% [waiting more than three months for cataract surgery].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “Poland (13%), Hungary (17%), Sweden (22%) and Italy (27%) had considerably lower shares [waiting more than three months for cataract surgery].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 9: “In France and Germany, the share [waiting over a year for a specialist] is 2%.”
CORROBORATED
Although the 'Evidence for claim 8' section was empty, the evidence provided for claim 7 explicitly states: 'In France and Germany, the share is 2 %' regarding waiting over a year for a specialist.
schedule
Claim 10: “followed by Hungary (209 days) and the UK (174 days) [median wait for hip replacement].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “A majority of patients also waited more than three months [for cataract surgery] in the UK (58%), Portugal (58%) and Spain (53%).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 12: “In Norway, four in five patients (81%) with this need waited more than three months [for cataract surgery] in 2024.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 13: “In Sweden, 23% of patients wait more than a week to see a GP or nurse.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of unrelated search results (e.g., '23 skidoo', 23andMe, and general info on Sweden) and does not contain the specific statistic regarding GP wait times in Sweden.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gothenburg ( GOTH-ən-burg; Swedish: Göteborg [jœtəˈbɔrj] ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east, and shares a mar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Swedish or svensk(a) may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finla…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 14: “In Norway, it climbed from 65% to 81% [waiting more than three months for cataract surgery].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 15: “In the UK, the share of patients waiting more than three months [for cataract surgery] more than doubled, from 22% to 58%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 16: “More than two in five patients in France (43%) wait between two months and a year [for a specialist]”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to support the specific 43% figure for France regarding wait times between two months and a year.
verified
Claim 17: “The figures come from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Health at a Glance 2025 report”
VERIFIED
A web search result explicitly references 'OECD: Health at a glance 2025: OECD indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing 2025' in the context of primary healthcare waiting times.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of countries by antidepressant consumption according to data published by the OECD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_antidepre…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article includes 2 lists of countries of the world and their total expenditure on health per capita. Total expenditure includes both public and private expenditures. See also: Health spending as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_hea…
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 18: “11% of patients reported waiting over a year for a specialist appointment [in the UK].”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results explicitly state that 11% of patients in the UK reported waiting over a year for a specialist appointment.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — PCPs raised concerns about patient suffering due to long wait times for specialists 17 times (11% of responses): “Patients become sicker and in more pain and ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10448708/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... The UK stands out the most: 11% of patients reported waiting over a year for a specialist appointment. In France and Germany, the share is 2 ...
https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/06/03/waiting-times-for…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 6, 2026 ... The UK stands out the most: 11% of patients reported waiting over a year for a specialist appointment. In France and Germany, the share is 2 ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bchealthcarematters/posts/13…
check_circle
Claim 19: “more than one in ten patients who need to see a specialist in the United Kingdom (UK) wait longer than a year to get an appointment”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that 11% of patients in the UK reported waiting over a year for a specialist appointment, which is 'more than one in ten'.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Malaria No More UK is a charity working to combat malaria in Africa. The Malaria No More UK office is located in London.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria_No_More_UK
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — "More, More, More" is a song written by Gregg Diamond and recorded by American artist Andrea True (credited to her recording project Andrea True Connection). It was released in February 1976 by Buddah…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More,_More,_More
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — More is a British heavy metal band formed during the new wave of British heavy metal scene in the early 1980s. Their first two albums and two singles were recorded on major label, Atlantic Records. Mo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_(band)
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 20: “In France and Germany, it is one in five (20%) [who wait more than a week to see a GP]”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence discusses GP wait times in England and Birmingham, but does not provide the specific 20% statistic for France and Germany.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brawn_GP
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — France–Germany relations, or Franco-German relations, form a part of the wider politics of the European Union. The two countries have a long and often contentious relationship stretching back to the M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France–Germany_relations
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank, is a German SailGP team that was founded in 2023. The team's CEO is Tim Krieglstein, and the team is supported by former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_SailGP_Team
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.