Galicia protests highlight years‑long health waiting lists

Around 400 people gathered in Burela on 4 June 2026 at a rally organized by SOS Sanidade Pública to condemn prolonged waiting lists for consultations, tests and interventions, some lasting up to four years. The platform blames the Galician Health Department and regional government, alleging a deliberate move toward health‑care privatisation. Coordinator Montse Porteiro said, “the worst is that we all know someone whose waiting time worsened a condition, pushed cancer to an advanced stage or caused a loss of life.”

In the neighbouring Pontevedra area, SOS Sanidade Pública reported average primary‑care appointment waits of 12‑15 days, nursing waits of six‑seven days, and specialist waits of 10‑12 months, reaching up to 18 months for some specialties such as traumatology. The group highlighted a 40 % rise in private health‑insurance contracts, long telephone‑booking lines, and under‑utilised hospital beds (58 of 630 beds reportedly idle at the University Hospital Complex of Pontevedra). Their demands include transparent waiting‑list data, 25 % of the SERGAS budget earmarked for primary care, and better coordination between primary and specialist services.