The fifth week of the doctors' strike against the Framework Statute promoted by the Ministry of Health continues with high participation in the Balearic Islands. According to the provisional assessment by the Balearic Medical Union (Simebal), this Tuesday the strike was supported by 70% of the external hospital consultation physicians and 40% of primary care professionals.

The incorporation of new resident doctors (MIR) in the Balearic health centers once again highlights the feminization of the medical profession. Of the 152 professionals who have started their specialized training period this year and have registered with the college in the Balearic Islands, 110 are women and 42 are men. This means that 72.3% of the new residents are women.

In the first three days of the fourth week of the doctors' strike against the reform of the Framework Statute promoted by the Ministry of Health, the follow-up of the stoppage has once again been significant. According to data provided by the Simebal union, the mobilization maintains high participation among health professionals, while IB-Salut assures that it does not have official figures on the follow-up of the protest, but yes on the impact of the mobilization. In the first two days of the stoppage (Monday and Tuesday), 109 operations have been suspended; 2,856 consultations and diagnostic tests and 2,940 Primary Care consultations.

In the first three days of the fourth week of the doctors' strike against the reform of the "Estatut Marc" (Framework Statute) promoted by the Ministry of Health, the follow-up of the stoppage has once again been significant. According to data provided by the Simebal union, the mobilization maintains high participation among health professionals, while IB-Salut assures that it does not have official figures on the follow-up of the protest but does have data on the impact of the mobilization. In the first two days of the stoppage (Monday and Tuesday), 109 operations have been suspended; 2,856 consultations and diagnostic tests and 2,940 primary care consultations.

The fourth week of this year's medical strike, which on Tuesday reaches its second day, has maintained a compliance of around 80% in hospital outpatient clinics and 50% in primary care in the Balearic Islands. According to data provided by the medical union Simebal, participation rises to 90% in services such as anesthesiology, radiology, and a large part of surgical activity, while among resident internal physicians (MIR) it remains around 65%.

A study by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona has found that not guaranteeing healthcare in patients' language can jeopardize diagnostic accuracy, trust between doctor and patient, and quality of care.

The IbSalut has set the minimum services for the fourth week of medical strike called against the reform of the framework statute promoted by the Ministry of Health. The stoppages, maintained by the Balearic Medical Union (Simebal-CESM), will take place between May 18 and 22.

The 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), concerning 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 should be exclusively held by medical personnel.

The IB-Salut is considering filing an appeal against the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSIB) which orders the dismissal of the coordinating nurse of the Manacor health center. The high court accepted the appeal from the medical union Simebal. "Nurses are fully qualified to direct any health center," defended the Minister of Health Manuela García, in the plenary session of Parliament, after the PSIB deputy and former minister, Patricia Gómez, asked her about the controversy generated by this sentence. "They are an essential part of any health center, key to ensuring the quality, efficiency, and humanization of care. Leadership must be based on skills, knowledge, experience, and management capacity. Currently, there are two nurses in strategic positions: at Son Llàtzer and at SAMU 061. I want to be clear: a basic health area must be directed by the professional with the best skills to do so. This is not determined by professional category. Is that clear?", said the minister.

The IB-Salut has had to suspend a total of 11,039 healthcare procedures this week due to the strike by medical staff against the reform of the framework statute for statutory health service personnel proposed by the Ministry of Health. The Administration has assured that it will reschedule all canceled activity to minimize the impact on users. The strike, which has now been ongoing for twenty days, has had a considerable cumulative impact: during this period, 62,883 medical procedures have had to be rescheduled throughout the archipelago.

The first two days of the strike called by doctors against the reform of the "Estatut Marc" of the Ministry of Health have had a notable impact in the Balearic Islands, with the suspension of 137 surgical interventions and 5,408 consultations, according to data provided by IB-Salut). Specifically, during these two days, 2,840 consultations and diagnostic tests have been cancelled, as well as 2,568 primary care visits. On Tuesday alone, the protest has led to the cancellation of 65 operations, 1,594 consultations and diagnostic tests, and 1,056 consultations in health centers. In total, the number of affected medical acts amounts to 5,545 in the first two days of a strike that will last until Thursday, a day on which unions have called for mobilizations throughout the State.

The High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) has annulled the appointment of a nurse as coordinator of the Sa Torre health center (Manacor) in a ruling issued on March 25, 2026, following an appeal filed by the medical union Simebal. The resolution annuls the call made in 2019 by the manager of Primary Care of Mallorca to fill a position of director of a basic health area (ZBS). The affected nurse had been managing the center for six years with the consensus of the entire healthcare team at the center, including the doctors, who considered her the most suitable person. Authorized health sources do not understand the logical reasoning that a nurse cannot direct a health center, but can manage a hospital, as is the case, for example, with Son Llàtzer Hospital.

The Superior Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) has annulled the appointment of a nurse as coordinator of the La Torre health center (Manacor) in a ruling issued on March 25, 2026, following an appeal filed by the medical union Simebal of the Official College of Physicians of the Balearic Islands (COMIB). The resolution annuls the call made in 2019 by the manager of Primary Care of Mallorca to fill a position of management of a Basic Health Zone (ZBS). The affected nurse had been directing the center for six years with the consensus of the entire health team of the center, including the doctors, who considered her to be the most suitable person. Authorized health sources do not understand the logical reasoning that a nurse cannot direct a health center, but can assume the management of a hospital, as happens, for example, in the case of Son Llàtzer Hospital. The same sources recall that, when the former Minister of Health, Patrícia Gómez, a nurse by profession, took office, her worth was also questioned because she was not a doctor.

The third day of the new week of doctors' strikes in the Balearic Islands has forced the cancellation of a total of 3,863 appointments, diagnostic tests, and surgeries across the archipelago, according to provisional data released Wednesday by the Balearic Islands Health Service (Ib-Salut). Mallorca is the most affected island, with 3,249 medical procedures canceled. The majority of the cancellations occurred in primary care, with 2,180 appointments postponed. Regarding outpatient consultations and diagnostic tests, 1,615 appointments were canceled, while 68 surgeries were suspended.

The first of five strike days called by the Balearic Islands Medical Union (Simebal) has seen a level of participation that, according to the union's own data, ranges from 70 to 85 percent in hospitals and from 40 to 60 percent in primary care, depending on the island. Simebal highlighted the "massive" participation of Resident Physicians (MIRs) in strategic hospital services, such as anesthesiology, with "very high" figures, such as the 95 percent participation rate at Son Espases University Hospital. In addition, numerous outpatient services have been affected, causing a "significant impact on healthcare" in the Balearic Islands. The doctors' protest will continue with one week of strike action each month until June, unless an agreement is reached.

The Association for the Defense of Public Healthcare in the Balearic Islands (ADSPIB) warned on Wednesday that the doctors' strikes in the Islands against the draft of the new Framework Statute do not address the need for a reorganization of the healthcare system in the Balearic Islands. At a press conference at the Official College of Nurses of the Balearic Islands (COIBA), the organization's president, Joan de Pedro, indicated that the management of healthcare services and issues such as working hours and salaries are the responsibility of the regional government. In this regard, he argued that the Framework Statute is "a step in the right direction" and warned that "refusing it is tantamount to allowing delays and problems that affect people's rights to continue accumulating." According to De Pedro, transforming the system requires improving working conditions, reorganizing doctors' schedules to allow them to cover more hours without jeopardizing their labor rights, and committing to full-time dedication to public healthcare.

The new electronic prescription system launched this past weekend is causing problems with medication dispensing at pharmacies in the Balearic Islands. According to the Balearic Islands Health Service (IB-Salut), "isolated incidents" were reported in the medication delivery process throughout Monday morning. However, the platform is operating normally in health centers and hospitals for issuing prescriptions, but is experiencing difficulties when users try to pick up their medications at pharmacies. Sources at IB-Salut assure that technical teams are working to restore the service as quickly as possible and have expressed their regret for any inconvenience this situation may cause to both healthcare professionals and patients. In response to this situation, the Official College of Pharmacists of the Balearic Islands (Cofib) explained that the system had to be temporarily shut down for two hours to try to correct the detected errors.

The second day of the doctors' strike against the Marc Statute has led to the suspension of more than 3,300 appointments and tests and 95 operations in the Balearic Islands, according to data provided by the Balearic Islands Health Service (IBSalut).

This Monday marked the start of an indefinite strike by doctors protesting the Statute Marc, a demonstration that includes one week of work stoppages each month until June. On this first day, more than 3,000 appointments and tests were canceled, along with a total of 77 surgeries in the Balearic Islands. According to provisional data from the Balearic Islands Health Service (IB-Salut), the strike resulted in the cancellation of 2,162 primary care appointments and 77 surgical procedures. Regarding outpatient activity, 1,835 appointments were not performed, in addition to various diagnostic and radiological tests. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for healthcare and has access to data on which professionals have participated in the protest, has declined to provide participation figures and refers inquiries to the Simebal union. "In recent strikes, we haven't provided participation data. We only report on the activity suspended due to the strike," sources at IB-Salut (the Balearic Islands Health Service) stated. According to Simebal, the first day of the nationwide doctors' strike saw high participation in the Balearic Islands, with 90% of hospital staff and 70% of primary care professionals joining, maintaining reinforced minimum services. Union sources indicate these figures are similar to those recorded in the rest of Spain. Young doctors have been particularly active in the protest, with participation reaching 95% in strategic services such as Anesthesia, which has had a direct impact on surgical procedures. Sources from Simebal-CESM, the doctors' union that called the strike in the Balearic Islands, wanted to send a direct message to patients: "Patients must be able to trust us. This strike is to guarantee the safety of both doctors and patients." The organization apologized for any inconvenience the mobilization might cause and noted that a protest of this magnitude had not been held since 1995.

The Balearic Islands Health Service (Ib-Salut) has established minimum services for the statewide strike of medical and medical staff of the A1 group of the National Health System, called from Monday 16 to Friday 20 February, as a protest against the framework statute.