The president of the National Association of Patients of the Health System (ANPASS), Mercedes López, has demanded that the Government withdraw the Framework Statute approved in the Council of Ministers and that the imminent call for an indefinite medical strike be avoided, considering that this "would be catastrophic for public health."
For this reason, she has urged the Executive and the trade union organizations to "sit down again to negotiate," reminding that the strikes carried out to date have already caused "the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of medical appointments, diagnostic tests, and surgical interventions." "We want to insist on the concern of users of the Spanish Health System as there are hundreds of thousands of situations that clearly affect a considerable increase in waiting lists," she emphasized.
According to López, the strike days have generated "a clear reduction in the quality of care for patients and a significant detriment to citizens," and these consequences occur "in a public health system already quite saturated and with significant waiting lists."
However, she has considered that "the step taken by the Ministry presenting the health Framework Statute in the Congress of Deputies entails a provocation that will lead doctors to an indefinite strike announced months ago," lamenting at the same time "the lack of negotiation on the part of the Government." In her opinion, the Executive "does not sit down with the unions, with a total lack of sensitivity towards patients."
UNSATISFIED REQUEST FOR A MEETING WITH MÓNICA GARCÍA
In this context, she explained that she has held meetings with union representatives to learn firsthand about their demands and to urge them for "maximum negotiation." She also indicated that meetings were requested with the Minister of Health, Mónica García, although these efforts have not materialized into an appointment so far.
López, who has also claimed to have requested a meeting with the Socialist Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies without success, has emphasized that a "quality Public Health System for citizens is essential, ensuring the well-being of users, but also with adequate conditions for all professionals."
In this line, he emphasized that healthcare personnel must have "dignified conditions and without political obstacles in their daily work." "From ANPASS, we regret that, once again, the users of the healthcare system are hostages of a conflict situation without being taken into account at all," he concluded.