Salut and Coiba appeal the sentence that dismisses the coordinating nurse of Manacor

PalmThe IB-Salut and the Official College of Nurses and Nursing Assistants of the Balearic Islands (Coiba) will file appeals for cassation before the Supreme Court against Ruling 170/2026 of the Superior Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB), regarding the access of nursing professionals to management positions in the field of Primary Care. The resolution stems from the appeal filed by the medical union Simebal and the Official College of Physicians of the Balearic Islands (COMIB), who challenged the appointment of a nurse as coordinator of the Sa Torre health center, in Manacor (accepted by all staff at the center), and argued that these positions must be exclusively held by medical personnel.

The Administration has decided to appeal the ruling with the aim of defending the organizational model and the capacity of IB-Salut to configure interdisciplinary management teams adapted to the current needs of the healthcare system. Both IB-Salut and Coiba agree on the need to move towards shared leadership models and to recognize the strategic role of nurses in the management of health services, especially in the field of primary and community care. In this regard, Coiba advocates for the professional development of nurses and the construction of a more efficient, collaborative, and person-centered healthcare system. Furthermore, both institutions consider it necessary to advance in the modification of regulations that have become anachronistic and do not respond to current challenges, and they are committed to a leadership model based on real capabilities, experience, and results.

Conflicting positions

The TSJIB ruling annuls the 2019 call for applications by the Primary Care manager of Mallorca to fill a position as director of a Basic Health Zone (ZBS), a role that the professional had held for six years with the support of the entire health team at the center.

Following this decision, Coiba and the Balearic Association of Community Nursing (ABIC) have expressed their disagreement with the criterion adopted by the court and have requested a review of the organizational model of Primary Care. The entities argue that the direction of teams is essentially a management and coordination function, and they emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of the current healthcare system, where nurses already exercise leadership roles at different care and organizational levels. They also warn that certain interpretations are based on regulations they consider outdated and call for them to be adapted to the current reality of the healthcare system.

For its part, Simebal defends the legality of the judicial decision and maintains that the current regulatory framework, as well as jurisprudence, establish that the management functions of basic health zones must fall to medical personnel, given the care and coordination responsibilities involved. The union also considers that the outcome of the process was foreseeable and criticizes the Administration's management of the call for applications and subsequent defense of the appointment.