(Newswire.net— October 28, 2020) — In Spain, doctors went on strike for the first time in 25 years, demanding “quality health”, Reuters cited Spanish media.
In Spain, one of the EU countries that is most affected by the coronavirus, a one-day warning strike was held across the country at the invitation of the Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM).
The strike also delayed operations that were not urgent. CESM stated that participation in the strike was 85 percent.
While protests were held in many cities over the strike, doctors gathered in front of the parliament building in the capital, Madrid, saying they were against the poor working conditions, which were exacerbated by the pandemic and government measures.
Union officials explained that the main reason for the strike was the decision made by the government of the left coalition due to COVID-19, which forces doctors to work in other health areas regardless of their specialization and facilitates the right of foreign doctors to work in Spain.
Under the slogan “quality health”, doctors demanded that working conditions be improved, that doctors work only in the areas for which they specialize, that the number of medical staff be increased, and that more be invested in state health services.
Daniel Bernabeu, vice president of the association of doctors and health workers in Madrid, said that the lack of investment in health care and long-term work under poor conditions became even more serious with the onset of COVID-19.
“We’re asking for help because we cannot give people the resources they need to be treated during this COVID pandemic,” said Natalia Roses, a doctor at the protest in Barcelona on the first of the four-day strike.
Dr. Begona Diaz said the problems that had long accumulated due to health interruptions and mismanagement had reached an unbearable dimension with COVID-19.
“We say that’s enough,” Diaz said.
Doctors have announced that they will continue to strike every last Tuesday of the month until their demands are taken into account and until they sit down at the negotiating table with the government.
According to the worldometers.info website, Spain is the sixth country in the world in terms of the number of cases of covid-19 – 1,165,498 cases of which 35,031 people died.