The doctor's strike already leaves more than 11,000 appointments and 212 operations suspended

PalmaThe fourth week of the doctors' strike in the Balearic Islands, called to demand a specific framework statute for the medical collective and which this Thursday reaches its fourth and final day, has already caused the suspension of 212 operations and 11,239 appointments. According to provisional data provided by IBSalut, this Thursday alone, 41 surgical procedures and 1,418 appointments and diagnostic tests have been cancelled, in addition to 1,694 Primary Care visits.

The Simebal union assures that the mobilization has maintained stable monitoring throughout the week and highlights an increase in participation in the concentrations that take place every morning in front of the public hospitals of the Archipelago. During these days, strike follow-up has been 80% in hospital outpatient clinics and radiology services, while in Primary Care it has stood at around 50%.

In specialties such as anesthesiology and in a large part of surgical services, participation has reached up to 90%, and among resident internal physicians (MIR) it remains at 65%. The union insists that the conflict remains open because, as it denounces, the Spanish government has not yet initiated effective negotiations to agree on a specific framework statute for medical professionals.

The protest is part of the discontent of a part of the medical collective regarding the reform of the framework statute, the regulations that govern the working conditions of healthcare personnel in the National Health System. Unions denounce that the proposal from the Ministry of Health does not respond to the main demands of professionals and that, in some points, it does not represent an improvement compared to the current situation.

Rejection of 24-hour guard duties

One of the main criticisms focuses on the duration and organization of the working day, especially regarding the 24-hour on-call system, which doctors consider excessive and poorly compensated. The collective demands an effective reduction in the care burden and a more adequate recognition of real working time. They also lament the lack of salary increases in line with the level of responsibility and the training required by the profession, in addition to rest conditions after on-call shifts that they consider insufficient in many cases.

Another of the axes of the conflict is the claim for a specific statute for the medical profession, distinct from the general regime applied to the rest of the healthcare staff. Professionals argue that their clinical responsibility, the degree of demand, and specific training justify differentiated regulation. Unions also warn that current conditions favor work overload and hinder the retention of professionals in the public system, in a context marked by increased mobility towards the private sector and other countries. The strike will culminate on Thursday with gatherings and demonstrations in various parts of the State, while negotiations with the Ministry of Health on the future of the reform continue.

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM), Miguel Lázaro, has assured that they are studying new pressure measures to avoid the impact of the strike on patients. He said this on Thursday afternoon, in statements to the media, during the rally that brought together more than fifty doctors in the center of Palma to protest against the Ministry of Health for the lack of negotiation to agree on a specific Framework Statute for the group.

"There is a component, which is harm to the patient, and we are considering to what extent we can propose other confrontation strategies. The public does not deserve this, nor do the patients," said the also president of Simebal. Although he stated that after the break in July and August they "will get back to it" in September, he did not clarify whether it will be through the same system of monthly strikes.

One of the possibilities they are considering, explained Lázaro, is the possibility that doctors renounce all the voluntary activity they do.

Also to call an indefinite strike, something that he said the collective "does not want", or to file a complaint with the European Commission.