Health sets minimum services for the November medical leave in Sergas

Medical personnel of the Galician Health Service (Sergas) must cover minimum services established by the Ministry of Health during the strike called by the United Doctors (SMU) union between November 16 and 28, 2026. The Order of November 12, 2026 determines the essential presence in emergencies, hospitalization, primary care, and emergency devices. The text, signed by Minister Antonio Gómez Caamaño, is published in the Official Gazette of Galicia no. 218 of Friday, November 13, in section III (Other provisions), with reference CVE-DOG: bt6on8s2-d4s8-wkb0-i5n6-unhblgnu2qy3.

The regulation is issued under Article 28.2 of the Spanish Constitution and Article 3 of Decree 155/1988, of June 9, which empowers the competent ministers to establish, by order and before each strike situation, the minimum activity necessary in essential services. Healthcare is recognized as an essential and prevalent service, therefore the order seeks to reconcile the right to strike with the protection of the population’s health. The decision was adopted after a hearing with the strike committee.

According to the preamble, the SMU is a trade union organization of national scope and its call is addressed to medical personnel, including personnel in training through the residency system. The organization expressly confirmed to the regional Administration that medical personnel dependent on Sergas are included in the scope of the call. The strike is of an indefinite nature and unfolds in successive phases: the first begins at 8:00 AM on November 16 and ends at 8:00 AM on November 28, and subsequent phases will be communicated with a minimum notice of ten calendar days.

Emergencies and critical areas at 100%

The text requires 100% coverage of urgent activity in emergency services and medical guards, urgent operating rooms for non-deferrable interventions, delivery rooms, and emergency laboratories. Activity is also maintained at full capacity in resuscitation units, adult and pediatric intensive care units, coronary units, the dialysis area, oncological treatment areas, transplant areas, and colonoscopies or urographies that require prior patient preparation.

Surgery for hospitalized and outpatient patients with life-threatening pathologies, especially neoplastic processes, and the care of urgent, preferential, and those derived from guaranteed processes consultations will also be guaranteed. The order refers to Decree 156/2024, of May 27, which modifies Decree 105/2017 on maximum access times, to demand compliance with priority 1 deadlines (less than 30 days) and guaranteed processes (less than 60 days). Likewise, the dispensing of blood, medications, and medical products, home hospitalization, and palliative care are ensured.

Staffing levels per unit and health center

In hospitalization services, a minimum number of physicians is established based on the size of the unit:

• Units with four or fewer professionals: 1 staff member.
• Units of five to eight professionals: 2 staff members.
• Units of nine to twelve professionals: 3 staff members.
• Units with thirteen or more professionals: 4 staff members.

In primary care, an equivalent scale is applied in health centers, outside of continuous care points, which must cover 100% of extra-hospital emergencies:

• Centers with four or fewer family doctors: 1 staff member.
• Centers of five to eight family doctors: 2 staff members.
• Centers of nine to twelve family doctors: 3 staff members.
• Centers with thirteen or more family doctors: 4 staff members.

Furthermore, the presence of one pediatrician per center or reference area is guaranteed for urgent pediatric care. The annex details the figures per health area and shift; as an example, the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario da Coruña sets 15 emergency staff in the morning, 15 in the afternoon, and 9 at night, while primary care in the Área Sanitaria da Coruña e Cee requires 100 family doctors in the morning, 54 in the afternoon, and 18 at night, and 28 pediatricians in the morning.

Blood, transplants, and Health Emergencies-061

The Fundación Pública Urxencias Sanitarias de Galicia-061 must cover 100% of urgent, permanent care and emergencies. The annex specifies 7 coordinating physician staff in the morning and 7 in the afternoon, reinforced by one more in certain time slots, 3 at night, 13 basic ambulance care physicians, and 2 basic helicopter physicians, the latter operating from sunrise to sunset.

In the Axencia Galega de Sangue, Órganos e Tecidos, minimums are covered to guarantee the supply of blood and blood products to all public and private centers in Galicia, the coordination of donations, organ transplants, and cell and tissue implants, in compliance with quality standards.

Designations, guarantees, and entry into force

The determination of personnel corresponds to the management of each health institution, taking into account the volume of activity and the characteristics of the center. The list must be published on the notice boards before the start of the leave, and the nominal designation shall be rotating and based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria. Whoever is designated may request substitution by another worker who expressly accepts the change.

Strikes by personnel assigned to minimum services are considered illegal for the purposes of article 16 of Real decreto lei 17/1977, of March 4, on labor relations. The order takes effect and enters into force on the same day of its publication in the DOG.

The impact of the strike call is significant because the first phase lasts twelve days and its continuity in new phases is foreseen, with a duration longer than usual in this type of conflict. The Department warns that the strike coincides with the organizational measures of the Winter Plan of the Galician public system, activated by the seasonal increase in respiratory infections, decompensation of chronic diseases, and hospital admissions, and recalls the cumulative effect of the strike calls that affected the medical collective throughout 2026. For patients, this means that non-urgent consultations and tests may be postponed, while emergencies, oncology, dialysis, births, and transplants maintain full coverage.

Source: Official Gazette of Galicia, no. 218, November 13, 2026, section III (Other provisions), p. 56839 (official reference: CVE-DOG: bt6on8s2-d4s8-wkb0-i5n6-unhblgnu2qy3).