Over 10,000 hospital appointments cancelled in Murcia as doctors' strike hits

This is the fifth strike since June and has disrupted thousands of consultations, diagnostic tests and surgery appointments

Murcia's hospitals have felt the full impact of a national doctors' strike this week, with thousands of appointments and tests cancelled.

The regional health service, SMS, was forced to suspend more than 7,500 consultations and 1,500 diagnostic tests in the first three days of the strike. By Thursday February 19, the total had risen to over 10,000 specialist appointments and 2,200 tests, along with 317 surgeries.

The participation in the strike has been reported differently. The regional government puts it at around 18%, while the medical union CESM says up to 65% of hospital doctors and 30% in primary care took part in the strike. Whatever the exact number, the disruption has certainly made an impact. 

This is the fifth strike since last June, all part of nationwide protests against the new health professional framework, the Estatuto Marco. The Estatuto Marco is the national framework that sets out the rights, duties, and working conditions for doctors and other healthcare professionals in Spain.

Doctors say the draft was created “without doctors and against doctors”. They are unhappy with how it handles on-call schedules, pay for extra hours, and certain working conditions. Many feel it doesn't fairly recognise the demands of their job or provide the improvements in hospitals and primary care that were promised.

The strike started on Monday February 16, with a demonstration outside Murcia's Health Department and will finish on Friday with a march to the Palacio de San Esteban, the seat of the regional presidency. CESM wants to show the regional impact as well as the national one.

Doctors are demanding changes to the on-call system, better pay for extra hours, and the withdrawal of the draft Estatuto Marco. They also want the regional government to meet its promises to improve primary care, hospitals, and emergency services.

Urgent care is being maintained thanks to minimum service rules, while non-urgent hospital and outpatient services are running at reduced staffing, basically at a public holiday level.

Marcos Ortuño, spokesperson for the regional government, says the strike is “a direct result of the Health Minister's inability to reach an agreement with the unions” and adds that “all regions are suffering first-hand the inefficiency of the Spanish Government and the Minister of Health.”

Images 1 & 2: CESM Región Murcia
Image 3: COM Región de Murcia