MADRID, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Tens of 1000’s of well being employees protested in Madrid on Sunday over what they are saying is the destruction of the general public well being system by the conservative regional authorities.
Wearing white coats and banging drums, many chanted: “Chopping public well being is legal.”
The demonstration attracted about 30,000 protesters, a regional authorities spokesman mentioned.
The Madrid regional authorities, led by the Standard Social gathering’s Isabel Ayuso, has come underneath fireplace in recent times, particularly for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, for poor staffing in hospitals and first healthcare centres.
[1/5] Well being employees and their supporters protest in opposition to the general public well being care coverage of the Madrid regional authorities, which they are saying is destroying main care, in Madrid, Spain, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Protesters say the regional authorities is dismantling public well being companies and favouring personal well being suppliers.
Dressed because the Grim Reaper and bearing a mock scythe, one protester held an indication studying, “I’m Ayuso’s plan for (the) emergency ward.”
“We now have about 40 or 50 sufferers per day and may give them about six minutes every. The issue is that they don’t permit us to offer correct care to sufferers,” Ana Encinas, 62, a health care provider who has labored in main care in Madrid for 37 years, instructed Reuters.
Ayuso denies the accusation that her administration is dismantling public well being companies in favour of the personal sector and says the protests and strikes are being orchestrated by left-wing events within the run-up to municipal and regional elections this yr to undermine the conservative regional authorities.
In November, tens of 1000’s of individuals marched via central Madrid in help of well being employees calling for higher working circumstances.
Reporting by Graham Keeley, Silvio Castellanos and Raul Cadenas
Enhancing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Christina Fincher
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