Simon Hunter
AN INDEFINITE strike by doctors in Madrid has been suspended temporarily while union representatives consider an offer from the regional government to improve their conditions.
Family doctors and paediatricians in the region have been on strike for a month, but will return to work until January 11, when both sides will meet once again to continue talks.
The announcement came from the general secretary of the Amyts union, Angela Hernandez, after the sixth meeting between the regional health department and the strike committee.
The pause to the stoppage will coincide with the Christmas holidays, while the doctors ‘analyse and evaluate’ a proposed improvement to pay.
Details of the regional government’s offer have not been made public.
Since November 21, more than 4,200 family doctors and 720 paediatricians have been called to strike in the Madrid region, to demand a minimum of 10 minutes to see each patient, a limit on their appointments and better conditions and pay.
The medical sector fears that if these conditions are not met, healthcare professionals will leave Spain bound for other countries, according to Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE.
On December 11, thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of Madrid in support of the cause, and to denounce the ‘critical condition’ in which the regional system currently finds itself.
The Madrid regional premier, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has been a target of the protesters for her healthcare policies.
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