Malaga Doctors to go on strike EVERY Wednesday until the end of May

THE Andalucian Medical Union (SMA) has called for strike action, following one which was previously scheduled for January 27 but was later cancelled after an agreement was reached, according to Malaga hoy 

The agreement was to limit doctors to 35 patients a day, and 25 children a day for paediatricians. Two months later however the SMA has cited a “lack of compliance” with that agreement and has called not one but seven days of strike action.

Mariángeles Bernal, the Primary Care delegate of the Málaga Medical Union (SMM) said, “The agreement has not been implemented; there is a lack of compliance with that commitment that prevented the strike [on January 27].”

Nearly 1,500 family doctors and paediatricians are being asked to stop working from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every Wednesday from April 12 to May 25.

The 12-hour strikes, will coincide with health centre opening hours and primary care paediatricians in the province of Malaga, with protests also planned for April 26 and May 17.

The main complaint by medics is poor scheduling and understaffing. Doctors can currently expect between 50 and 60 patients a day, which doctors say results in a decrease in the quality of care, an overload for doctors and a greater risk of making errors.

In order for the agreement to work SMA estimate that it would be necessary to hire another 150 physicians in Primary Care in Malaga.

For more than a decade, different union organizations have been denouncing that in the city of Malaga and especially on the west coast there are “unsustainable” quotas due to the lack of staff.

In fact, last week the SMM urged the SAS to create 77 positions for family physicians and paediatricians authorized in 2022 for health centres in the province. A total of 79 new positions were given the green light last year, but only two have actually been appointed in Axarquía.

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