The healthcare system is one of the most complex and successful achievements of democratic societies. Complex because knowledge, and consequently the capacity to treat illnesses, is constantly evolving for the benefit of us all, and also because those of us who are part of the healthcare system sometimes speak indecipherable jargon. Furthermore, healthcare activity indicators are not easy to interpret in their entirety. We must acknowledge that today we have more information than we are capable of processing to draw the necessary conclusions and adjustments.

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.

President Isla's statement still lingers in current political affairs,"I know what needs to be done, what Catalonia needs"An idea he will surely elaborate on in his interview on TV3 tonight at 10 pm. Coming from him, it can only mean collaboration with the State, such as bringing in the second-in-command to the Minister of Transport to put an end to the Renfe and Adif chaos on the commuter rail lineAnd a demand for Esquerra and Comuns to approve the budget. The leader of the opposition in exile, Carles Puigdemont, rightly reminded Salvador Illa yesterday that the legislature didn't begin yesterday, that he has been governing for a year and a half, lest the Catalan government try to use his medical discharge as a way to reset the clock.

Doctors across the country are going on strike again this week to demand their own collective bargaining agreement that exclusively regulates their working conditions. Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Health and labor unions—which do not include medical unions— They signed an agreement for a new framework statute.The law regulating the working conditions of healthcare professionals in Spain, which had not been updated for 22 years, has been amended. However, the new regulations do not satisfy the organizations representing doctors, who have been protesting for months with strikes and demonstrations to express their discontent. This time, the strike committee of the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM), which includes regional organizations—among them Doctors of Catalonia, the largest medical union in the country—has called a five-day strike, the longest to date, to continue pressuring the Spanish government. In an initial assessment, the Catalan Health Department estimated that 6% of doctors participated in the strike. However, according to Doctors of Catalonia, the strike participation rate was 39% on Monday. According to the largest union, 44% of primary care physicians (those working in primary care centers) have joined the strike, while 25% of hospital staff have done so. Nationwide, pending an official report from the Ministry of Health, the CESM (Confederation of Medical Unions of Catalonia) asserts that the strike has averaged nearly 90% participation in hospitals and 85% in primary care across all autonomous communities. "If they think we'll tire of protesting, they're very wrong. We understand it won't be short or easy, but the medical community has made its voice heard," Xavier Lleonart, Secretary General of Doctors of Catalonia, told ARA, making it clear that the mobilizations are a direct response to government policies. In fact, the Catalan union supports the five-day strike and has also organized two days of protests this Monday and Friday against the department. However, they only plan to take to the streets with a large demonstration on Friday, and on the other days they are simply urging professionals not to go to work. They also do not expect to negotiate with the Catalan Health Department (Salut), since, so far, the department "has not offered any cooperation" to prevent the protests.

A breath of fresh air for Health Minister Mónica García, who has reached a preliminary agreement with unions in negotiations over the framework statute, the law that regulates the working conditions of healthcare professionals in Spain and which has not been updated for over 20 years. The preliminary agreement has led to the cancellation of one of the strikes. the two healthcare strikes scheduled for this winterThe strike, which was scheduled for the end of January and called by the unions at the negotiating table for all healthcare workers, has been cancelled, while the doctors' strike remains in place. With this agreement, García is also putting pressure on the autonomous communities governed by the PP (People's Party), which had requested the withdrawal of the framework statute following the controversy the proposal has generated over the past year with the back-and-forth between unions and the administration. The preliminary agreement between the Ministry and the unions SATSE-FSES, CCOO, UGT, CSIF, and CIG-Saúde includes measures such as promoting a standard 35-hour workweek and access to partial retirement, as well as the possibility of early retirement for certain professions. However, it makes no mention of the 24-hour on-call shifts that the Minister has wanted to eliminate since taking office, and one of the most controversial measures of the new framework statute that was ultimately not included in the agreement. The Ministry of Health clarifies that measures not falling under its jurisdiction (as these are regional responsibilities) will be addressed later in a specific agreement.

The first healthcare strike in a system at war with the Spanish government. All doctors in primary care centers and hospitals across the country are called to action starting this Tuesday to protest the new framework statute being negotiated by the Ministry of Health for months. This statute, which regulates the working conditions of healthcare professionals in Spain, has not been updated in over 20 years. For now, Doctors of Catalonia, the largest medical union in Spain, has announced four days of strike action: this Tuesday and Wednesday, and on January 14th and 15th, following the strike on October 3rd.It brought together hundreds of professionals at the doors of the Health DepartmentAccording to the Catalan union, the strike participation rate on Tuesday morning was 45%, while the Catalan Health Department (Salut) reported 7.2%. A similar situation occurred in the afternoon, when the organizers put the participation rate for the first day of the strike at 45%, while the department lowered it to 7%. In the streets, the protest began at the doors of the Spanish government delegation and ended in Plaça de Sant Jaume, with the aim of pressuring the various administrations to consider the need for a single statute for doctors. Around 800 doctors, according to the Barcelona City Police, demonstrated in the Catalan capital for their own medical collective agreement, against excessive workloads and professional burnout.

The healthcare system is at odds with the Spanish government, which will have to deal with two simultaneous healthcare strikes this winter. The Ministry of Health has been negotiating a new framework statute for months—the law that regulates the working conditions of healthcare professionals in Spain and which hasn't been updated in over 20 years—but the back-and-forth between the various unions involved has caused tensions across all professions within the system, who are now preparing for two months of protests. The reasons for protesting are similar in their basic structure, but have some specific characteristics. On the one hand, the medical unions have already made it clear that they wanta single statuteSeparately, the unions that exclusively regulate the working conditions of doctors, unlike other healthcare workers, have announced a separate statute. On the other hand, the other unions negotiating the statute, including the main nurses' union, Satse, have accused the Ministry of Health of neglecting their interests due to "parallel negotiations" with doctors. For all these reasons, unions on both sides will return to the streets to force the ministry to listen to their respective demands at a time when hospitals and primary care centers are already beginning to feel strained due to the flu epidemic. On the one hand, Doctors of Catalonia, the largest medical union in Spain, has announced four days of strike action on December 9th and 10th and January 14th and 15th, following the strike on October 3rd, which It brought together hundreds of professionals at the doors of the Health DepartmentFurthermore, the union warns that this time "the protests will not stop, but will continue until the administration addresses their main demand," namely, a single statute that exclusively regulates the healthcare, organizational, and labor aspects of doctors. These four days of strike action will be mirrored nationwide through... The Association for a Medical and Professional Statute (APEMYF)The platform they jointly promoted with 16 medical organizations for the achievement of their own statute.

Hundreds of doctors have filled the streets of Barcelona and other cities across Spain to protest against the framework statute that the Ministry of Health has been negotiating for months. It's the law that regulates the working conditions of healthcare professionals and hasn't been updated for 22 years, but medical unions have already made it clear they want it. a single statutedifferentiated from other public health system workers. However, negotiations remain stalled. Doctors argue that long working hours, 24-hour shifts, and poor working conditions are driving young people to try their luck in other countries or in private healthcare and they warn that, if there are no changes soon, the generational change for all the professionals who will retire in the coming years will not be possible.