Rapped knuckles for moonlighting doctors

TWENTY SAS doctors in Almeria Province face disciplinary proceedings for maintaining private practices.

They were all contracted to work exclusively for Andalucia’s public health service and their double roles came to light during Health department inspections.

Sanctions range from returning the monthly €700 they received on their exclusive contracts to a two-year suspension.  

Doctors who wish to combine their public health posts with private are obliged first to seek authorisation from the Hacienda treasury and tax authority. Once this has been approved they should inform the SAS which then deducts the €700 paid to doctors who work only in the public sector.

All doctors receive the same pay, explained the president of Almeria’s College of Medicine, Francisco Martinez Amo, and the €700 is a complement. “Like it or not, this is the law in Andalucia and we must comply,” Martinez Amo said.