Hundreds of thousands rally in Spain in support of public health care

Hundreds of thousands of Spanish public health care workers and their supporters have came together in a demonstration in Madrid. 

On Sunday, they were demanding more primary health care staff and protesting what they believe to be the gradual erosion of the public health care system in favour of private providers by the conservative regional government.

The protest in the Spanish capital, dubbed the "white tidal wave" because of the white medical coats worn by many protesters, took place under the slogan “Madrid rises up for public health.”

The Madrid region is at the centre of the protests. Partial walkouts started in the region last Monday, with an all-out strike called for November 21 for nearly 5,000 Madrid doctors.

A regional government spokesman said there were 200,000 people out on the streets, but organisers gave a figure three times higher, saying 650,000 demonstrators had joined the protest.

The protest was called by neighbourhood associations, labor unions and leftist political parties.

Lack of funding

The Madrid regional government led by the Popular Party's Isabel Ayuso has come under fire in recent years, and especially since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020, for poor staffing in hospitals and primary health care centres.

Organisers say that though Madrid is the Spanish region with the highest income per capita it is also the one that spends the least amount per capita on primary health care.

They claim that for every 2 euros spent on health care in Madrid, one ends up in the private sector.

“The people of Madrid deserve quality primary health care and not delays of more than a week to see family doctors or pediatricians,” the AMYTS doctors’ union says.

Ayuso denies there are staff shortages and claims the protests and strikes are being orchestrated by left-wing parties in the run-up to municipal and regional elections next year.

READ MORE: Thousands gather at Spain's capital to protest high prices