The budget agreement proposes increasing the number of sick leaves given by hospitals.

BarcelonaThe agreement between the Government, employers' associations (Foment del Treball and Pimec) and unions (UGT and CCOO) to pass the budget includes two points relating to the granting of sick leave. one of the most controversial topics of recent weeksThe agreement also underscores the need to "continue strengthening primary care"—the main manager of temporary disability (TD) claims—with an investment of up to €3.878 billion. It also includes the objective of "improving the entire care process" surrounding these procedures, "automating tasks and allowing for a reduction." Among these actions, the agreement indicates that an increase in situations where TD can be prescribed from the hospital is anticipated.

As reported The NewspaperThe Catalan Ministry of Health is reportedly studying the possibility of allowing hospital emergency room doctors to issue sick leave certificates; a point that, for the moment, government sources have not confirmed to this newspaper, but have confirmed to social and economic stakeholders. "The idea would be to enable other situations that are not currently covered so that hospitals can issue them directly and reduce the bureaucratic process," these sources told ARA.

In July 2024, the Catalan Ministry of Health – then headed by Manel Balcells – announced that hospitals within the Catalan Integrated Public Healthcare System (Siscat) would directly manage sick leave in two cases: major outpatient surgery and childbirth. With this measure, the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) estimated that 100,000 trips per year would be saved at primary care centers (CAPs), since 10% of sick leaves for surgery that does not require hospitalization do not exceed five days. However, they would continue monitoring from the CAP.

The Catalan Health Department (Salut) has long admitted that the process for handling sick leave is "deficient," due to duplication with primary care physicians or because the physician doesn't receive clinical information when the patient or family requests documentation. A week ago, the department proposed offering incentives to primary care centers (CAPs) that ensure sick leave for mental health reasons and musculoskeletal injuries—which constitute the majority of cases and can last up to a year and a half—is not "unnecessarily" prolonged. This proposal sparked a wave of criticism from the medical sector. Physicians argue that the incentives call into question and condition medical judgment, blaming professionals for problems caused by the "blockage" of the healthcare system. Specifically, they cite obstacles to diagnostic testing, referrals to specialists, and the timely prescription of therapies.