The president of the Junta de Extremadura, María Guardiola, has called on the Ministry of Health to offer an "effective response" to the open conflict with doctors, who are demanding a specific framework statute and better working conditions. She lamented that the "inaction" of Minister Mónica García will end up falling "on the shoulders" of professionals and patients.
Guardiola made these statements during the presentation ceremony, this Monday, of the works of the second phase of the University Hospital of Cáceres (HUC). There she urged the department headed by García to unblock a situation that has been stagnant for months and has led to the suspension of consultations and surgical operations.
"I take this opportunity to publicly demand an effective response, because what cannot happen is that the cost of the inaction of the Minister of Health falls on the shoulders of professionals and, above all, of patients," she said after detailing some data on Extremaduran healthcare.
The regional leader stressed that the regional Executive will continue working "to improve the conditions of health professionals and the care of our patients." "That is our obsession and it is the basis of the health roadmap we have from the Government," she emphasized, insisting that public healthcare in Extremadura is "at the center of our priorities."
In this regard, she highlighted that Extremadura leads the health "effort" in the country as a whole, with an investment of 8.9% of GDP dedicated to health, a proportion that, she noted, "no other autonomous community reaches."
Guardiola also alluded to the recent approval of the General Budgets of Extremadura (PGEx) for 2026, which, as she indicated, "will bring stability to our region and acceleration in many projects and in the growth that Extremadura is experiencing." These accounts incorporate an increase of 500 million euros for health and dependency, she specified.
Regarding other indicators, she highlighted that the Extremaduran Health Service has added more than 1,000 new health professionals, of whom around 50% are doctors and nurses. Furthermore, she assured that the waiting list for surgical interventions has been reduced and the largest volume of operations carried out to date has been achieved.
"And we have also achieved this at a complicated time, at a time when there is an open conflict between medical personnel and the Ministry of Health over the Framework Statute, which has led to the cancellation or postponement of thousands of appointments and procedures," he concluded.