Two years down the road from the start of the Covid pandemic and medical staff, in particular nurses, are still feeling the pressure and today over 100 mounted a new protest outside Son Llatzer Hospital in Palma calling for more staff and better working conditions.
Shouting “our health care needs quality” and “we need a health strike now”, the demonstration is part of a nationwide campaign organised by the professional union demanding more dialogue with all of the various health administrations.
According to the nurses’ union SATSE, the Balearics needs 3,000 more nurses in order to reach the European ratio of 8.5 per 1,000 patients.
The current workforce, they claim, is “clearly insufficient”, and it is having repercussions on the mental health of workers many of whom are exhausted as a result of pandemic.
During the protest, they once again demanded a change in their job category and the possibility of early retirement, as is already the case in other professions.
According to the secretary general of the union in the Balearics, Jorge Tera, neither the Spanish nor Balearic ministries for health, have engaged in any kind of dialogue.
If this continues, the union is not ruling out demonstrations and even strike action.
A national survey has revealed that nearly half of all nurses in Spain have considered a career change due to the huge impact of the Covid pandemic or moving to work abroad where pay and working structures are better.