Spain's public healthcare doctors walk out today. Not for a day. Not for a week. The Confederación Estatal de Sindicatos Médicos — Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions — has called rolling weekly strikes through June.

This week: February 16 to 20. Then March 16 to 20. Then April, May, June. Five months of monthly walkouts affecting every public hospital and centro de salud — health centre — in Andalusia.

On Saturday, 5,000 doctors marched through Madrid calling for the Health Minister's resignation. In Andalusia alone, 30,000 medical professionals are involved.

The immediate disruption matters. But the framework they're fighting, and how long it's been broken, tells you more.

Minimum service levels have been set for Andalusia and published in the regional official gazette on February 13. Here is what that means in practice.

Running at full capacity: Emergency departments. ICU and critical care. Deliveries. Urgent diagnostic tests. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis, and oncological surgery. If it is urgent or life-threatening, the system is there.

Running at reduced capacity: Hospital wards will operate at up to 50% of normal weekday staffing, similar to a public holiday schedule. Primary care emergency points (SUAP — urgent care within health centres) remain open.

Likely postponed: Non-urgent consultations. Follow-up appointments. Elective procedures. Routine diagnostic tests.

Not guaranteed at all: Auxiliary clinics and consultorios — satellite medical offices — in smaller towns may have no doctor available this week.

For reference: four days of strikes in December cost €38 million and suspended 308,000 consultations, surgeries, and tests across Spain. This week is five days. (CESM figures, December 2025.)

The Estatuto Marco — Framework Statute — governs how every public healthcare worker in Spain is employed. Working hours. On-call shifts. Career progression. Retirement conditions. It was written in 2003. For context, Facebook launched in 2004.

The Ministry of Health proposed an update. Four other healthcare worker unions signed it two weeks ago. The doctors' unions said no. Unanimously.

Their argument is that the update lumps doctors in with all other healthcare workers under one framework. Doctors want a separate statute recognising the specifics of medical training, on-call intensity, and clinical responsibility. They are not asking for more money. They are asking for working conditions that reflect what the job actually requires in 2026.

The January strikes on the 14th, 15th, 27th, and 28th were the opening moves. February 16 starts the sustained campaign.

If you have used public healthcare on the Costa del Sol, you already know the system runs on the goodwill of overworked staff. The doctors are now saying that goodwill has a limit.

What this tells you as a resident: the problems in the public system are structural, not temporary. The employment framework is 23 years old. The proposed fix was rejected by the people it was meant to govern. Five months of walkouts is not a tantrum. It is a diagnosis.

If you have a scheduled appointment at your centro de salud: Call first. Your centre's reception can tell you whether your doctor is striking and whether your appointment has been rescheduled. Primary care will run at roughly 25% staffing on Monday, rising to about one-third from Tuesday onward.

If you need urgent care but it is not an emergency: Go to your centro de salud's SUAP (urgent care point). These remain open.

If you have private insurance: This strike affects only the public health system. Sanitas, Adeslas, Asisa, DKV, and other private insurers operate normally. Call your insurer's cuadro médico — provider directory — line to book directly. If you are still deciding between providers, our guide on Private Insurance in Spain covers what each one actually offers.

If you need emergency care: Call 112. Ambulances are running. Emergency departments are at full capacity.

Numbers worth saving: Salud Responde — Andalusia's health helpline: 955 54 50 60 Emergencies: 112 Sanitas: 900 10 19 00 Adeslas: 900 30 03 01

Mark these weeks. Each follows a Monday-to-Friday format:

February: 16 to 20 (this week) March: 16 to 20 April: 27 to 30 May: 18 to 22 June: 15 to 19

If you have a non-urgent procedure or specialist referral in the public system, plan around these dates. The backlog from each strike week will push routine appointments further out.

Helicopteros Sanitarios, a private 24-hour home doctor service popular with the English-speaking community, opens a new clinic in Fuengirola on March 2, on Calle Matagorda. The new location expands their coverage from Marbella eastward along the coast. (Confirmed February 2026.)

Further out: Hospital Virgen de la Esperanza — Málaga's third major public hospital — broke ground this month. A €543 million investment with 815 rooms. The timeline is four to five years. Public healthcare capacity is expanding. It is not expanding fast enough to prevent what is happening this week. (Junta de Andalucía, February 2026.)

At the Centro de Salud reception this week:

"¿Mi cita sigue en pie o se ha cancelado por la huelga?" — Is my appointment still happening or was it cancelled because of the strike?

"¿Cuáles son los servicios mínimos hoy?" — What are the minimum services today?

And if someone mentions la huelga — the strike — in conversation, you now know what they are talking about.

Emergencies, ICU, oncology, and urgent care continue at full capacity. Non-urgent appointments and elective procedures face delays this week, and again in March, April, May, and June. Call your centro de salud before going. If you have private insurance, nothing changes for you. The weekly disruption is manageable. The 23-year-old framework that caused it is the part worth watching.

Go deeper: The complete guide to Healthcare in Spain.

If someone in your household handles the medical appointments, they need this before Tuesday. Forward it to them.

Not bad for a Monday — A. and the WaypointSur team (servicios mínimos in full effect)