At least half a thousand people have gathered this Friday morning at Hospital del Mar, in Barcelona, on the ninth day of strike called by Metges de Catalunya since October. The mobilization, the second this week, is scheduled to advance to the Parliament and converge there with the protest of the teaching sector.
In parallel, the medical strike is also called throughout the week by the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions. This Friday's day once again highlights the distance between the follow-up data handled by the union and the health administration.
Uneven follow-up according to union and Salut
Metges de Catalunya places strike participation at 40% in Barcelona, 32% in Girona, 29% in Tarragona and 26% in Lleida. In Girona's case, the union maintains that participation has risen eight points compared to this Thursday.
By care areas, the organization puts the follow-up at 39% in primary care and at 30% in hospitals. Against these figures, the Department of Health lowers the impact of the call and sets the overall follow-up at 6.7%.
The union toughens the tone
During the rally, the general secretary of Metges de Catalunya, Xavier Lleonart, has warned that the conflict will not close as long as there is no direct negotiation with the administration to improve the healthcare system. He has also reproached the Government for not having made, in his opinion, any gesture to try to resolve the situation.
"He has not sat down to negotiate, no matter how many councilors (male) and councilors (female) insist on saying it, it is not true" - Xavier Lleonart, general secretary of Metges de Catalunya
Lleonart has also lamented that the Govern acts, in his words, as if it did not hear the protests that are taking place in the street, both in the health sector and in the educational sector. In that context, he has assured that the lack of movements on the part of the Catalan Executive only points to a scenario of more mobilizations and more pressure.
Notice about the future of the system
The union leader has warned that, if a negotiation is not opened to apply improvements, the healthcare system could end up collapsing. He has insisted that that risk will arrive if a remedy is not put in place in time and has linked that warning to the absence of progress in the dialogue table.
"One day it will happen if we don't remedy it" - Xavier Lleonart, general secretary of Metges de Catalunya
The protest started at Hospital del Mar thus maintains pressure on the Govern in a week marked by mobilizations in several public services. With the planned march towards the Parliament, the doctors seek to give continuity to a conflict that, for now, remains open and without a negotiation that brings positions closer.