Overview

• Marches and hospital walkouts were held nationwide as physicians protested the draft reform of the 2003 Estatuto Marco, calling for rules tailored to medical training, on-call duty and career paths.
• Turnout figures diverged sharply: Catalonia reported 9% participation versus 58% claimed by Metges de Catalunya, Galicia cited 23.5% while unions spoke of a mass response, and Madrid put hospitals at roughly 12–15% with higher pockets by center.
• Service-minimum orders kept urgent and priority-1 surgeries, especially oncology, while many elective operations, consultations and diagnostics were curtailed, with union slogans highlighting unpaid on-call hours and fatigue from 24-hour shifts.
• The Health Ministry said its plan modernizes employment conditions, reduces precarious contracts and ends 24-hour guardias by capping them at 17 hours, details stricter rest periods, and introduces measures such as periodic hiring rounds and exclusivity for senior posts.
• Several regional governments criticized the draft and negotiation process as overreaching and rigid, and unions warned of continued mobilization, with local disputes escalating such as an indefinite radiology strike announced in Vigo from next week.