Spain seeks to limit resident physician shifts to 17 hours

The Spanish Ministry of Health has added new provisions to the Framework Statute reform, which regulates the working conditions of healthcare workers, to include resident physicians. The draft, which requires Congressional approval, includes several changes regarding the shift durations, rest rights, and wages of medical specialty students known in the country as MIR.

According to the regulation announced by Minister of Health Mónica García, shifts for resident physicians and other specialty students, which can currently reach 24 hours, will be limited to a maximum of 17 hours. It will not be permitted to work more than four shifts per month, which translates to a maximum of 68 hours of shift work per month. The draft also includes a provision that standard working days should not continue immediately following a shift.

The draft also stipulates that the standard weekly working hours be set at 35 hours, that supplementary payments that increase gradually based on years of seniority be improved, and that resident physicians be notified of their rotations at least two months in advance.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EXCEPTION DEBATE

Healthcare circles point out that the requirement to notify rotations two months in advance may be difficult to implement in practice. It is noted that large hospitals rely on a system based on the intensive work of resident physicians, and therefore, the new rules may require comprehensive changes in planning.

The draft also includes a provision for at least 12 hours of uninterrupted rest between two shifts. However, it is stated that this rule may not be applicable if "service requirements" dictate otherwise, and that compensation must be provided within a maximum of 14 days. The concern among healthcare workers is that such exceptions could effectively weaken the labor rights that are meant to be protected.

The retention of the phrase "service needs" in the current framework statute is also one of the points being criticized. Article 97 of the draft states that working hour limits may be exceeded in cases where continuous care cannot be guaranteed at an appropriate level and as long as there are organizational or service-related reasons that justify it.

Beyond the regulation, physicians are demanding that shifts be included in the earnings base for Social Security contributions, that night work bonuses or additional leave be granted after consecutive shifts, that a special professional category be created for physicians, and that overtime be voluntary and compensated. A voluntary early retirement system and a ban on mandatory relocation are also among their demands.

The MIR España Association (AME) described the shift and rest arrangements and wage improvements proposed by the Ministry as "a step forward." However, the association is of the opinion that the regulation remains insufficient to end the precariousness faced by resident physicians.

News Source: 12punto