how long it lasts, who calls it, what the demands are and how it will affect patients

The doctors have said enough. From Tuesday December 9 to December 12, these professionals will go on strike to demonstrate their rejection of the reform of the framework statute which regulates the working conditions of employees of the National Health System (SNS) proposed by the Ministry of Health.

This call comes after three years of negotiations and more than 60 meetings between the ministry, unions and strike committees, without reaching an agreement satisfactory for all parties on a regulatory framework that has remained in force since 2003.

Who is calling for a strike?

The strike committee is made up of Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) and Andalusian Medical Union (SMA), which three months ago launched a calendar of mobilizations to express “the unanimous rejection of the profession” to the reform of the Framework Statute.

This plan included a march in Madrid on November 15, and four days of consecutive strikes the following month, accompanied by concentrations in different cities, like those of last Tuesday, December 9.

These strikes, which other unions joined, These are the third of the year, after those of June 13 and October 3. This call coincides with already stressed health services, which are beginning to be saturated due to the increase in demand for care in the midst of the flu season and other respiratory viruses typical of winter.

What do doctors require?

The reasons why doctors support the strike can be summarized in five points, the first and most important being the creation of their own status and their own space for negotiation. According to professionals, this measure responds to the need to have a differentiated negotiation environment, which allows them have direct contacts with the Administration and negotiate specifically their working conditions, without depending on general frameworks which, according to them, do not reflect the particularities of the medical environment.

The second point of their demands concerns the classification of professional groups. Currently, the regulations do not sufficiently distinguish the different training levels of medical personnel: MECES III graduates can be considered at the same level as MECES II, which, according to doctors, generates inconsistencies. “In this way, graduates with 240 credits and specific training could be compared to doctors who have completed 360 credits,” denounces the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM).

The third point of their demands concerns on-call hours. Doctors regret that these hours are not considered “extraordinary activity” and that they do not benefit from higher remuneration than ordinary hours. Furthermore, they claim that this On-call time is counted as time worked for retirementone of the main demands of successive demonstrations in the sector throughout the year.

“We are the only workers in all of Spain who do not benefit from the guarantee of rest or family conciliation, and the only ones who can be forced to work overtime paid below ordinary hours,” denounces the Andalusian Medical Union (SMA).

The fourth and fifth points of the medical demands relate to forced mobility and discriminatory working conditions. Doctors denounce the fact that using the so-called “service requires a joker” allows transfers and assignments to be imposed arbitrarily, subjecting the group to unfair situations and unequal compared to other professional categories.

Likewise, they criticize a regime of discriminatory incompatibilitieswhich limits your possibilities for additional work, while pay for equal work varies unfairly.

List of doctors’ five demands

How do doctor strikes affect patients?

Although the Health personnel strikes are regulated by minimum services, The four-day shutdown requested by doctors could have a significant impact on care, especially in a context where hospitals already have saturated emergency rooms. To minimize risks, the autonomous communities have adopted preventive measures, such as the compulsory wearing of masks in health centers, hospitals and retirement homes.

During the strike, 100% of usual Sunday or public holiday services are guaranteed, including urgent diagnostic tests and treatments. This means that patients with serious problems or requiring immediate assistance will continue to receive careensuring continuity of care both in primary care and in hospital. However, delays may affect scheduled consultations, routine check-ups and non-urgent procedures.

In the health centers with SUAP (Primary Care Emergency Service)emergency activities will continue to be covered by this service, without the need to designate additional minimum services. In outpatient clinics without SUAP, an exclusive doctor will be designated to attend to emergencies only during the center’s normal opening hours. This ensures that patients with critical issues receive care, but limits availability for other types of consultations.

In the event of a hospital emergency, minimum services will be provided by the usual staff for a weekend or public holiday. According to the SAS ordinance, it can be increased up to one 50% more doctors based on resident doctors (MIR) availablebut if the unit has fewer than three residents, there will be no additional reinforcements.