The Incompatibility with Private Practice Promoted by Health Ministry Provokes Outrage Among Alicante Doctors

"In a state of war." This is how the Medical Associations of the Community present themselves without hesitation in response to the changes being prepared by the Ministry of Health for their profession. At the centre of the protests is the Draft Law of the Statute Framework, which, according to the Valencian Medical Council—comprising the Colleges of Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia—represents a "direct attack" on the rights of the profession and "jeopardises their professional work."

Three aspects have incited the anger of the collective. Firstly, the incompatibility that the proposal envisages between public and private practice in certain cases. Also, the professional equivalence of doctors with other healthcare professionals, and the modification of on-call conditions.

Regarding the first aspect, exclusive dedication in the public system is projected for the five years following the completion of their training as Resident Internal Doctors (MIR), which also extends to intermediate managerial positions.

For the regional council, the measure "imposes obligations and limitations on individual freedom on a group already burdened by their working conditions, instead of retaining them with decent working conditions and stable employment once they finish their training. This will lead to a greater exodus than is already occurring, as it does not at all align with retaining doctors in the public sector, but quite the opposite."

In other matters, the proposal equates doctors with other professional groups in group A1, something the collegiate entities consider unfair, as it equates medical qualifications, which have 360 credits and six years of duration, to others with 240 credits and four years of duration.

In this regard, the collective has been demanding for some time that its members be included in a new and specific group called A1+, which recognises them above other healthcare professions, as in their case, they are responsible for the care processes, including diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of medical interventions.

Regarding on-call duties, they feel "deceived," as the Draft speaks of implementing 17-hour shifts on non-holidays, "which is already done, except that on the day of the shift, the doctor will have the morning off to avoid working 24 consecutive hours, but those seven hours must be made up." This, combined with "morning colleagues having to cover, will overload the healthcare services."

Additionally, they explain, on-call hours will still not count as working time for retirement, although they are contributed as working time, "a harmful situation that has been endured for years."

For all these reasons, the entity requests organisations with negotiating powers, integrated into the Medical Profession Forum, to take the necessary actions to withdraw the draft law, in order to avoid the "serious consequences that its application will have on doctors' working conditions and the quality of healthcare."