The spokesman for the acting regional Executive, Carlos Fernández Carriedo, asked this Thursday the central Government to open a dialogue with the representatives of health professionals to find a solution to the demand to approve a Framework Statute, which, according to him, includes “largely reasonable” measures, as reported by Ical.
Fernández Carriedo warned that the lack of negotiation between the Ministry of Health and doctors has a direct impact on citizens and the autonomous communities, increasing waiting lists and delaying diagnostic and surgical procedures, while professionals are forced to continue the strike.
Doctors demand a Framework Statute that recognizes the particularities of their profession, including the reduction of on-call hours from 24 to a maximum of 17 hours, the working day to 35 hours, salary improvements and the possibility of early retirement.
The regional spokesperson stressed that the Autonomous Community is “affected” by the strike that began at the beginning of the year, which has caused the cancellation of scheduled surgeries and tests, causing disruption to patients and their families. Even so, he announced that the Ministry of Health will implement measures to try to reduce waiting lists, although he acknowledged that it will be difficult to recover everything lost during the weeks of strike.
Finally, Fernández Carriedo insisted on the need for a “meeting point with dialogue” between the central government and doctors to find legal solutions that facilitate the exercise of their profession and prevent the conflict from becoming entrenched, according to Ical.
