Why the doctors of Madrid are fighting back against the healthcare crisis
Thousands of doctors and paediatricians have been on strike and taking to the streets of Madrid to protest the negligence from the regional government towards public healthcare
Approximately 4,240 doctors and 720 paediatricians from 430 medical centres across the city have been on strike between November 21 and December 21 with many of the public joining them in passionate demonstrations in the streets as the pressure builds for president of the community of Madrid and the right leaning People's Party, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
The healthcare system in Spain differs significantly in comparison to the UK where the funding and decisions made come from central government whereas in Spain it is decentralised meaning all the power comes from regional government, this is where the problem lies.
Doctor María Cuesta outside the medical centre in La Cabrera
Doctor María Cuesta outside the medical centre in La Cabrera
One of the doctors that has been a key component to the strikes and demonstrations is María Cuesta, 40, from La Cabrera, a large town in the north of Madrid. She said: "We don't expect anything from the regional government (Isabel Díaz Ayuso) anymore, our only hope is that the central government (Socialist Workers' Party) come to our rescue."
The People's Party has been in power of Madrid since 1995 and it is widely acknowledged that the community of Madrid will always be a stronghold for right-wing political parties due to it being the base for former Fascist leader Francisco Franco who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975.
The people of Madrid have suffered the consequences of this as their Public Health Service cripples and the rest of the country's healthcare continues to strive. Teo Vanguelova, 57, who works for SUMMA (the medical emergency service) said: "I have heard from other professionals and colleagues in other regions of the country such as Castilla de la Mancha and the Basque country that their conditions are very good and are allowed plenty of time to attend to patients
"Many doctors and professionals are moving to countries like Germany, England and Switzerland because of how poor the conditions are here in Madrid."
The entrance sign in the medical centre
The entrance sign in the medical centre
When I visited the medical centre in La Cabrera the doctors and medical professionals were all very keen and passionate to talk about how horrendous the conditions have been and the despicable behaviour of the regional government with one, Manuel Ángel Jiménez González, 30, remembering the moment they were all sent e-mails in the early hours of the morning without any notice that they were all going to be moved to different services and the structure was being re-organised.
"When we saw the e-mails, we all thought that this cannot be legal and we have appealed." He said.
He added: "They even tried to change the name of the services, it's like ripping up the dictionary and making a new one."
Manuel and another colleague, Elena Troyano Murillo, 50, said that this regional government have been acting despotic with the intention of destroying the public health service resulting in many of the public turning to private healthcare where there is more money to be made. Coincidently, President Ayuso's parents both used to be involved trade of medical goods and it is widely accepted that the privatisation of healthcare is with intention of personal monetary gain for the People's Party.
Medical professional Manuel Ángel Jiménez González
Medical professional Manuel Ángel Jiménez González
María added: "They legally cannot do this because of The General Health Law of 1986 brought in by Ernest Lluch."
She referred to this law as it is the main body of the national health service introduced by the Socialist party which provided the best health service in Europe for a substantial period of time.
More unrest was caused when Ayuso claimed that these strikes and demonstrations were a political move rather than a medical related move which has sparked many of the public to turn against the doctors resulting in some ugly scenes.
Maria said: "Because of the behaviour and lack of respect from the regional government towards doctors, there've been cases where patients have attached or assaulted doctors thinking this is all their fault."
When speaking to Teo at one of the demonstrations near the region of Atocha, she expressed her thoughts regarding Ayuso's comment, she said: "This is not a political move, this a real problem we are facing. Ayuso is disguising this as a political move in order to distract the population, that’s my opinion."
She added: "Everything should to change from the top down. We’ve sacrificed everything, from our own health and also our own families."
She went on to describe times when she had worked 24-hour shifts on multiple occasions and even had to be called back in to service resulting in a 29 hour shift all because her workload continues to increase over the years due to doctors and medical professionals not being replaced when they retire or leave for another region or county.
Ayuso and her representatives have been reluctant to negotiate and via this video from her twitter account, she has claimed that the doctors on strike and that are carrying out demonstrations are losing support from the public and fellow doctors. Incidentally, the replies to this tweet were flooded with support for doctors on strike and even the hashtag #AyusoAPrisión (translating to Ayuso to prison) trending.
Despite the struggles and a state of crisis among them, the doctors have achieved a lot as a result of their strikes and protests with many medical professionals being able to return to their original services, including Maria herself. She was sent to another service in another region in Madrid but after refusing to back down, she and many other doctors returned and that's a large part of what they set out to do.
"We are not demanding money, all we are asking is to be able to do our job well."
Although they have achieved a significant amount the doctors are very determined to keep fighting for what they feel is right with many demonstrations planned for the upcoming weeks to ramp up the pressure. This could be very significant considering there are regional elections in the coming months.
