Nurses at Marbella's Costa del Sol Hospital could go on strike

Nurses from Marbella's Costa del Sol Hospital initiate mobilisations

Nurses from Marbella's Costa del Sol Hospital initiate mobilisations. image: juntadeandalucia

Nurses at Marbella’s Costa del Sol Hospital could go on strike


SATSE, the Nursing Union in Malaga has announced that nurses working in the Costa del Sol Public Healthcare Business Agency could go on strike this December. This comes as the result of a ruling won back in 2018 not having been implemented.
This 2018 ruling was recognised by the TSJA and ratified by the Superior Court of Justice of Andalucia. It related to the relief time between nursing shifts, known as overlap, as effective working time within the working day in the Public Agency. With this court ruling, the company was obliged to make this measure effective, and its implementation had to be negotiated between the parties.

As SATSE points out, three years have passed and the resolution of the sentence has still not been applied to the Nursing staff of said Agency. The union claims this is a result of the refusal of negotiation and passivity on the part of the company. They have disobeyed a court ruling, and displayed an absolute neglect of functions say the union, which in turn is leading to the loss of rights of the health professionals.

Nursing overlap, or replacement, is the fundamental moment for the exchange of clinical information on patients among nursing professionals from healthcare units. It is a time that said staff is extending their working hours in order to guarantee continuity of care, and, therefore, patient safety during shift relays.

The Health Agency is requested by the union to immediately apply this court ruling, and not delay it any longer. It is required to negotiate for the implementation of the overlap. During this process, it should be agreed how much time should be necessary for the period exchange of information between outgoing and incoming nursing staff on a shift. This, in turn, guarantees continuity of care, time that in any case will be included as part of the working day.

Nurses at the Health Agency have run out of patience says the union. Other health agencies of the Ministry of Health have had this same ruling as that of the Costa del Sol. It has been executed in the Alto Guadalquivir Health Agency, and in the Hospital de Poniente Health Agency, but the Directorate of the Health Agency has been refusing to make the court’s ruling effective.

A campaign has begun this week to collect the signatures of nurses working in the Agency. This is been done to convey to the public the attitude that the Agency’s Management maintains, and to continue in their default, where they will finally go on strike if negotiations are not started, as reported by laopiniondemalaga.es.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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