Next Sunday, March 26, at 12:00 noon, unions, professional associations and neighborhood groups are calling for a large march from Plaza España to Atocha to continue showing their muscle in favor of public health care.
The medical strike in Primary Care is over, but the fight goes on. Thus, this coming Sunday, March 26 at 12 noon, some thirty groups are calling for another big march that aims to overflow the streets of Madrid again against the health policy of the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
As they report, at 12 noon and from Plaza de España to Atocha, a demonstration will try to show muscle under the slogan “For a public, universal and quality healthcare in Madrid”. Unlike the two previous big events distributed by columns and organized exclusively by neighborhood groups, this time the organization is in charge of a coalition between trade unions, health personnel associations and neighborhood associations, something unusual that calls for an overflow. A call that had its first version last October 22, 2022.
From a joint communiqué, which still accepts adhesions from individuals and organizations, they assure that this mobilisation responds to “the continuous policies of cuts and unfulfilled promises carried out during these years by the regional government, which has put economic interests first, clearly favoring the private sector, rather than preserving and strengthening the public healthcare system”.
They request more resources and means, as well as the no end to privatizations and outsourcing of services.
They speak of a “lack of resources” that affects proper patient care, in addition to an “overload of work” which, in their opinion, “has generated a wave of public indignation and constant mobilisation in recent months”. For this reason, they request more resources and means, as well as the no end to privatizations and outsourcing of services, and an improvement in the working conditions of healthcare personnel, putting an end to temporary employment.
On the other hand, they make special mention of the precarious situation of the current Continuous Care Points (PAC) -formerly Primary Care Emergency Services (SUAPs) and Rural Care Services (SAR)-, now dismantled after the reorganization of out-of-hospital emergencies carried out by the Regional Ministry of Health. They also request that the “depleted and overloaded network of mental health centers” be reinforced and that “the number of hospital beds be significantly increased”, among other aspects.
