Health attributes the 50% increase in waiting times to see a specialist to the medical strike

PalmaThe Department of Health has held the government of Spain responsible for the cancellations and rescheduling of visits, while the opposition has reproached it for not assuming autonomous powers in healthcare management. The minister, Manuela García, during the Parliament plenary session, attributed the 50% increase in waiting time for a first consultation with a specialist to the strikes and pointed directly at the Spanish government as responsible for the situation. "It is Pedro Sánchez's management that has brought us here," she stated in response to Socialist deputy Amanda Fernández.

García reproached the state executive for allowing a strike to continue for months and asserted that, across Spain, three million citizens have had to reschedule their consultations. In the case of the Balearic Islands, as she indicated, the strike has forced the management of more than 80,000 cancellations. The PSIB deputy criticized the minister for once again resorting to the strike, the increase in health cards, and the inherited legacy to justify the evolution of the waiting lists.

The debate regarding the situation of the public health system has also featured the state of the emergency services at Son Espases as a key issue. Socialist deputy Patrícia Gómez recalled that this Tuesday there were 71 people waiting to be admitted to the hospital, a figure which, she remarked, occurs without there being an epidemic phase, a medical strike, or a population increase to explain it. "The concern for the emergency department is growing," she warned. García defended the Government's management of health matters and highlighted the increase in professionals and services. At the same time, she thanked the emergency service workers for their efforts in facing the increased demand and regretted that some citizens have to endure longer waits than desired.

García attacks the minister

The minister also directed her criticisms at the Minister of Health, Mónica García, whom she described as "the worst minister in history." She did so in response to the spokesperson for MÉS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, who had accused her of providing data that does not reflect the worsening of waiting lists. Apesteguia pointed out that citizens have to wait 20 days longer than a year ago to be seen by a specialist and assured that the public is "outraged" by the evolution of the indicators. The eco-sovereigntist spokesperson asked García if she considers that the Government's health policies improve the lives of citizens. In her response, the minister shifted the focus back to state management and accused the minister of neither having resolved the labor conflict nor having adopted measures to strengthen primary care staff. García, on the other hand, defended that regional management has allowed for the incorporation of more professionals and the improvement of waiting times.

Patrícia Gómez's interpellation to the minister also served to confront the waiting list data. García claimed that the July 2026 indicators showed improvements compared to those of the same month in 2023, while the socialist deputy warned that all indicators have worsened compared to 2025. Gómez reproached the minister for denying the negative trend in the data and recalled that, when the PSIB arrived in Government in 2015, it found a situation she described as "disastrous." According to her argument, by 2019 all indicators had improved.

The socialist also questioned the executive's attribution of the worsening waiting lists to the medical strike, as she considers that a good part of the physicians' demands affect regional powers. García, for her part, insisted that the cancellations derived from the strikes are the responsibility of Pedro Sánchez's government.

The collapse of Son Espases

The healthcare pressure at Son Espases has also ended up having consequences on the hospital's scheduled activity. Faced with the saturation of the emergency department, the center has decided to suspend the operations planned for this Wednesday, except for oncological interventions and those considered priority, to try to speed up the admissions of patients waiting for a bed. The measure highlights the difficulties in absorbing the healthcare demand and comes after there were 71 people waiting to be admitted to Son Espases this Tuesday. A situation that has once again placed the response capacity of the public health system at the center of the political debate, while emergency professionals continue to shoulder the healthcare pressure.