The Minister of Health, Manuela García, appeared this Wednesday before the Parliament's Health Commission, six months after the PSIB made an urgent request for her to provide explanations regarding the collapse of the Balearic public health system. García has denied that there is a collapse and has defended her management. What she did do was justify the strain on the system with the growth and aging of the population. "Not only are there more of us, but we are living longer. Since the legislature began, there are 40,000 more people entitled to healthcare benefits," she remarked at the beginning of her appearance – right now there are 1,258,490 people in the Islands with a health card. As she explained, primary care centers handle an average of 33,643 consultations every day. "In hospitals, 1,522 emergencies are attended to, 223 surgical interventions are performed, and around 5,840 specialized consultations are conducted," she detailed. García also highlighted the increase in chronic patients on the Islands, a fact derived from aging. With 210,230 people over 65 years of age – 59,117 over 80 – "34,406 complex chronic patients and 2,549 advanced chronic patients" have been identified.