Sun, January 15, 2023
MADRID (AP) — Several thousand health workers returned to the streets of Spain’s capital Sunday to protest what they claim is the dismantling of Madrid's public health care system by its conservative regional government.
Carrying homemade signs with slogans that translated into English as “S.O.S. Public Healthcare” and “Stop Privatization,” the marchers clamored against staff shortages and criticized what they consider the favoritism shown by regional authorities toward private health care providers.
The event was the latest in a series of protest actions, including strikes, by Madrid’s public health workers against the capital region's government, which is led by Popular Party heavyweight Isabel Ayuso.
The unions that organized Sunday's demonstration said Madrid spends the least amount per capita on primary health care of any Spanish region even though it has the highest per capita income. They claim that for every 2 euros spent on health care in Madrid, one ends up in the private sector.
Ayuso has alleged the protests were motivated by the political interests of left-wing rivals ahead of May regional elections across most of Spain.
The Associated Press
Tens of thousands of Spanish health workers protest for better future
Tens of thousands of Spanish health workers Protest against the regional government's public health care policy, in Madrid
Sun, January 15, 2023
By Raul Cadenas and Silvio Castellanos
MADRID (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of health workers protested in Madrid on Sunday over what they say is the destruction of the public health system by the conservative regional government.
Dressed in white coats and banging drums, many chanted: "Cutting public health is criminal."
The demonstration attracted about 30,000 protesters, a regional government spokesman said.
The Madrid regional government, led by the Popular Party’s Isabel Ayuso, has come under fire in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, for poor staffing in hospitals and primary healthcare centres.
Protesters say the regional government is dismantling public health services and favouring private health providers.
Dressed as the Grim Reaper and bearing a mock scythe, one protester held a sign reading, "I am Ayuso's plan for (the) emergency ward."
"We have about 40 or 50 patients per day and can give them about six minutes each. The problem is that they do not allow us to give proper care to patients," Ana Encinas, 62, a doctor who has worked in primary care in Madrid for 37 years, told Reuters.
Ayuso denies the accusation that her administration is dismantling public health services in favour of the private sector and says the protests and strikes are being orchestrated by left-wing parties in the run-up to municipal and regional elections this year to undermine the conservative regional government.
In November, tens of thousands of people marched through central Madrid in support of health workers calling for better working conditions.
(Reporting by Graham Keeley, Silvio Castellanos and Raul CadenasEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Christina Fincher)
Tens of thousands of Spanish health workers Protest against the regional government's public health care policy, in Madrid
Sun, January 15, 2023
By Raul Cadenas and Silvio Castellanos
MADRID (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of health workers protested in Madrid on Sunday over what they say is the destruction of the public health system by the conservative regional government.
Dressed in white coats and banging drums, many chanted: "Cutting public health is criminal."
The demonstration attracted about 30,000 protesters, a regional government spokesman said.
The Madrid regional government, led by the Popular Party’s Isabel Ayuso, has come under fire in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, for poor staffing in hospitals and primary healthcare centres.
Protesters say the regional government is dismantling public health services and favouring private health providers.
Dressed as the Grim Reaper and bearing a mock scythe, one protester held a sign reading, "I am Ayuso's plan for (the) emergency ward."
"We have about 40 or 50 patients per day and can give them about six minutes each. The problem is that they do not allow us to give proper care to patients," Ana Encinas, 62, a doctor who has worked in primary care in Madrid for 37 years, told Reuters.
Ayuso denies the accusation that her administration is dismantling public health services in favour of the private sector and says the protests and strikes are being orchestrated by left-wing parties in the run-up to municipal and regional elections this year to undermine the conservative regional government.
In November, tens of thousands of people marched through central Madrid in support of health workers calling for better working conditions.
(Reporting by Graham Keeley, Silvio Castellanos and Raul CadenasEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Christina Fincher)
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