MADRID — Hundreds of 1000’s of Spain’s well being staff 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.
The Madrid authorities has been the goal of criticism in recent times, particularly because the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, over poor staffing in hospitals and first healthcare facilities. Protesters say it’s dismantling public well being companies and favoring non-public well being suppliers.
“They have cut our wages instead of raising them. We are overwhelmed with work and do not have any support. We are in danger of extinction,” Lilian Ramis, 61, a matron on the El Molar well being heart in Madrid, informed Reuters.
Demonstrators stuffed the Plaza Cibeles space within the metropolis heart, chanting and waving flags. One demonstrator sported an enormous mannequin of Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the right-wing chief of the Madrid regional authorities, with a Pinocchio-like nostril hooked up.
Regional governments in Spain are liable for a big a part of the well being price range as a part of the nation’s devolved political system.
A regional authorities spokesman put the quantity of people that marched by way of the streets of central Madrid at 250,000 whereas organizers put it at nearer to 1 million.
Ayuso denies the accusation that her administration is dismantling public well being companies in favor of the non-public sector.
“We all believe in public health,” she wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Thousands of well being staff additionally demonstrated in Santiago de Compostela, in northwestern Spain on Sunday, calling for the preservation of the general public well being system. Police mentioned 20,000 took to the streets.
In November, tens of 1000’s of individuals marched by way of Madrid in help of well being staff calling for higher working circumstances. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
