On Travessera de les Corts, where the Catalan Ministry of Health is located, there was a carnival atmosphere this Friday morning. The props for the demonstration included doctors' coats, masks, makeup, and protest signs, but far from being a day of leisure, hundreds of doctors gathered with a clear objective. Chanting slogans like "Medical agreement, now!", the protest organized by Doctors of Catalonia is demanding a specific agreement that exclusively regulates doctors' working conditions. Jordi Aparicio, a doctor from Terrassa, explained that he took to the streets today after years of demanding improvements in the sector. "We are asking to be able to provide better care to our patients, because it's not just about salaries, but also about the quality of care," he stated.

The Doctors of Catalonia union has taken a stand against the words of the Catalan Minister of Health, Olga Pané, who stated that artificial intelligence (AI) diagnoses better than healthcare professionals. In a message on social media, the union urged Pané to apologize and retract her statement. Specifically, the Minister of Health asserted the following: "[AI] diagnoses with an accuracy equal to or greater than that which we professionals ourselves can achieve." According to the union, Pané's statement is "completely unbecoming of a Minister of Health" and they believe that "she should not be able to say this without consequences." "A Minister cannot say this, because she is making her opinion of doctors very clear," stated the organization's general secretary, Xavier Lleonart. Furthermore, in the video they added that "in any normal country, she would at least issue an apology." Therefore, they demand that the councilor issue a public retraction and, failing that, they assert that they will be forced to formally request her dismissal.

Pediatrician Ana Roca (Torrelles de Llobregat, 1963) is the new president of Doctors of Catalonia (MC), the country's main medical union. The current vice president is the first woman to hold the presidency of the organization in its 125-year history. In a conversation with ARA, she reviews the main challenges facing the healthcare system and evaluates the actions of the Department of Health and the Ministry of Health.