The Junta de Andalucía tries to retain new doctors, but so far only 54% of the MIR accept the position

The lack of doctors suffered by Andalusia and the rest of the country is leaving the health care of the population in a precarious situation. To try to correct this situation and retain the doctors who have just finished their specialty, the Junta de Andalucía is recruiting more professionals through the so-called “single acts”, with which it tries to speed up new hires.

But the results have not been entirely satisfactory.. At the moment and according to the data provided by the SAS to EL MUNDO, only 54.43% of MIR professionals who have finished their specialty have accepted a contract in the offer for the month of May. For the Andalusian Medical Union, this plan by the Junta to attract new specialists through “single acts” has been a true “failure”, which will lead public health to a “serious crisis”.

However, the Ministry of Health, headed by Catalina García, is convinced that the hiring of doctors will increase and in the coming weeks there will be more MIRs recently finished working in Andalusian public health, through “single acts” or with summer vacation plan contracts. In fact, the Junta sources recall that last year, after these hiring processes, almost 71% of MIRs stayed in Andalusia and 78% who completed their training in Primary Care remained in their work area.. The forecast that the Board is considering is that 90% of the residents finally choose to stay in the SAS. Until next November it will not be known if, finally, this high percentage was reached.

To try to retain the new doctors, the Andalusian Administration has offered twice as many places as MIR professionals finish their training. In total, 2,283 contracts have been launched and 1,115 MIR complete their training. Of the 2,283 contracts offered, 935 are for medical specialists in the area, 177 for family doctors in the Critical Care and Emergency Service, 296 for paediatricians and 875 for family doctors.

According to the available data, which are still provisional because recruitment is still underway these days, a total of 607 places offered have been covered (271 area specialist physicians, 99 family physicians in the Critical Care and Emergency Service, 8 for pediatricians and 228 for family doctors). Of these figures, 54.43% of the MIR professionals who finish and have accepted a contract come out.

Health “collapse”

The Medical Union considers other data and complains that the SAS has not published the results of the “unique acts” in order to try to “hide its inability” to attract new specialists, especially in Primary Care. The delegates of this union have compiled the figures of the contracts in the eight provinces and have reached the conclusion that these offer a “clear image of the collapse” towards which the SAS is heading.

In Primary Care, the SAS offers in the “single acts” have been rejected by the majority of the doctors who had just finished the specialty, according to the data considered by the Medical Union. In many cases, the percentage of vacancies covered has barely exceeded 10%, warns this union. “This situation aggravates the reduction in the workforce caused by the numerous retirements that will occur in the coming years,” warns this union center.

The situation in Hospital Care is no better than in Primary. In both cases, the working conditions offered by the SAS have not been attractive to new specialists who, more and more, place public health as a second or third option when they start their professional career.

rigid schedules

The key to the rejection is in the working and remuneration conditions, which are increasingly “less attractive” for new specialists. Temporary contracts, “uncompetitive” salaries, rigid schedules and rotating shifts that make it impossible to reconcile work with family life, a counterproductive incentive policy and a bureaucratized professional career disconnected from clinical practice are some of the factors that explain the « flight” of public health doctors, details the Medical Union. In fact, recent studies reveal that the average age of doctors is already lower in the private sphere than in the public sphere.

The SAS, for its part, insists that Andalusia has had a deficit of specialist doctors for years, especially in Family and Community Medicine. A situation that will worsen in the coming years with the expected retirements: 6,769 until 2032, of which 2,917 will be family doctors.

However, the Board hopes to reverse this deficit and bring forward the break-even point between doctors who retire and those who enter the Andalusian public health system. It will do so by increasing the number of resident places and trying to retain them, through the development of their professional career.

The Medical Union does not see it that way, which considers that the regulatory framework that regulates labor relations and the incentive policy cannot be the same for medical personnel as for management and services personnel. “It is urgent to establish a bilateral dialogue between the SAS and the representatives of the medical community, which should have its own Statute in accordance with its qualifications and its functions,” says this union.

Last May, the SAS signed an agreement to improve Primary Care with CCOO, UGT, Satse and CSIF. The Medical Union was removed from the pact, which asked the team of the Ministry of Health to change its attitude “radically” or resign to unblock the situation. The protests of the doctors continue.