The Department of Health estimates that 14% of non-urgent operations within Catalonia's public healthcare system were cancelled last week. This situation is attributed to a doctors' protest where they are refusing to work overtime, an initiative joined by over 230 hospital services. According to data provided by Health to the ACN, these interventions will be rescheduled and do not involve oncological or emergency procedures. Furthermore, the department reports that 16% of non-urgent endoscopies were affected during the same period.
The campaign, spearheaded by the Metges de Catalunya union, aims to highlight that the healthcare system relies on the "overexertion" of professionals and to pressure the department into negotiations with the medical collective. Anesthesiologists from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona have been the latest to join this protest.
“"We are not seeking conflict, but solutions. We regret the administration's lack of response to the demands that have led doctors to twelve strike days since autumn, and we speak of a stance of 'institutional indifference' that 'is not acceptable'."
A total of 69 physicians from the Anesthesiology and Resuscitation Service at the Hospital Clínic have signed a statement announcing they will cease performing voluntary extraordinary activities starting Monday. This decision is made in solidarity with the protesting doctors and to demand the Department of Health open a negotiation table. The professionals assure that the protest will not affect essential healthcare services.
The Metges de Catalunya union also indicates that approximately 1,000 weekly radiological examinations outside of regular working hours at the Radiology Service of the Hospital Taulí de Sabadell may have been postponed, including around 240 abdominal CT scans. These figures, collected by the union, do not originate from official sources within the hospital's management.
The 'Ni un minut més' (Not One More Minute) campaign urges medical professionals not to undertake planned voluntary activities beyond their regular working hours and on-call duties ('peonadas'). The protest, which began in early June, now involves over 230 medical services across 43 public and subsidized hospitals, 22 primary care centers (CAP), three sexual and reproductive health units (ASSIR), and two adult mental health centers (CSMA).
Metges de Catalunya is maintaining this campaign following twelve strike days since autumn, demanding a specific collective agreement and measures to address workload overload and restore healthcare quality. These include eliminating 24-hour on-call shifts or increasing patient visit times in primary care. The protests in Catalonia are part of a broader national movement by doctors seeking a dedicated negotiation space and structural reforms within the healthcare system.
