Pamplona (EFE).- The Department of Health and the Medical Union of Navarra (SMN) have closed a preliminary agreement this Friday to suspend the strike of doctors that began on February 1 and thus recover the level of care activity as soon as possible.
Thus, as confirmed by sources from the Government of Navarra, in principle tonight from 00:00 hours the doctors’ strike is suspended, although on Monday the doctors in the different assemblies called must ratify the agreement for its definitive revocation.
The preliminary agreement reached between both parties has been analyzed at the General Board of the Public Service. Health and the Medical Union have agreed on a series of measures that have an impact on the working conditions of medical professionals and on the service to the Navarra citizenry.
Among them, according to a document, there are two especially relevant, one of them related to the reduction of work overload and, specifically, the reinforcement at the general level of Primary Care.
In this sense, the maximum number of daily visits is established at 32 patients/day per doctor, while consolidating the 12-minute average per face-to-face visit.
Increase of 400 euros per month
The other measure articulates the increase in the basic remuneration of all health professionals of 400 euros per month and 14 payments, an increase that will be effective “as soon as possible once it is enabled by law.”
The rest of the issues that are the subject of the negotiation process will be addressed later with a defined calendar and a shared methodology.
Regarding these commitments, pending the upcoming signing of the definitive agreement, the Department of Health undertakes that the points referred to in the pre-agreement related to remuneration take their course in the General Board of the Administration.
For its part, the Navarra Medical Union undertakes to suspend the strike starting tonight and, in the same way, will transfer both the preliminary agreement and the call to their assemblies for ratification.
One of the issues on which an agreement has not been possible is related to exclusivity. “The hard bone is that of exclusivity,” the general secretary of the SMN, Alberto Pérez, told EFE, who pointed out that they are not going to give it up but “at the current political and union moment and the enormous alarm caused there are few advances”.