MORE than 200,000 doctor’s appointments have been cancelled in Malaga following a nationwide strike over medical staff working conditions, official data shows.
Roughly 4,000 surgeries and 18,000 tests were also postponed as one in four doctors in Malaga joined the protest, according to Andalucia’s regional government.
At the Regional Hospital, about 40% of staff went on strike, while the rest continued to deliver roughly half of essential care services, protest organisers said.
The five-day strike, which ended on Friday, followed a government proposal to reform Spain’s current healthcare workforce law, known as the Estatuto Marco.
READ MORE: Nationwide doctors’ strike begins TODAY in Spain: Here’s how it could affect you
Doctors say the bill was developed without sufficient input from doctors, failing to properly regulate working hours or to align them with European standards.
Other grievances include the new 24-hour on-call shifts, which are not credited towards retirement benefits, as well as a lack of recognition for several key professional classifications and competencies.
Patricia Navarro, the central government’s delegate for Andalucia, described the strike as ‘unprecedented,’ adding she had urged the Ministry of Health to find a compromise.
Hospitals across Spain were left running on skeleton staff, with routine appointments and elective procedures thrown into chaos.
Emergency care and cancer treatments were prioritised, but waiting lists soared.
Unions have warned they would keep up the pressure until the government guaranteed real changes.
Patients are now bracing for more delays and disruption as talks drag on, with further strikes planned for March 16–20, April 27–30, May 18–22, and June 15–19.
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