Overview
- Doctors across Spain began a 48-hour walkout on 14–15 January, with about 175,000 physicians called by APEMYF-affiliated unions in regions including Madrid, Catalunya, Galicia, País Vasco, Navarra, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia and Asturias.
- Emergency care and critical treatments continue under reinforced minimum-service orders, such as 100% staffing for 061, ICUs, dialysis and oncology in Galicia, while some unions label the coverage levels abusive.
- Regional health leaders publicly rebuked Health Minister Mónica García over the Estatuto Marco process, alleging unilateral management and the absence of required technical, legal and economic reports in letters from Murcia and Andalucía and statements from Madrid.
- Seasonal respiratory surges have hospitals under pressure, and managers in Vigo reported full wards, hundreds of daily ER visits and surgery postponements during December’s stoppage, raising concern about further strain during the current action.
- In Madrid, roughly 27,000 doctors were called to strike, a march was planned from Congress to the Health Ministry, and unions pressed for higher on-call pay than the current 19 euros per hour on weekdays and 23 euros on weekends.