Major Malaga hospital faces 'critical summer' due to cuts claim

The UGT trade union warned this week that the Hospital Regional Universitario in Malaga city will once again experience "a critical and chaotic summer" due to the lack of staff. Following the publication of the SAS Andalusian public health service's plan for the summer of 2025, it has become clear, at least to the UGT, that the situation is bound to worsen, compared to what the hospital experienced in 2024. The union has denounced the cuts in working hours and staff, especially in the face of the city's ever-growing population.

"We have been presented with a holiday plan that makes you want to cry," said the union. The number of working days has been reduced in several categories: nurses (from 18,039 in 2024 to 17,367 in 2025), mental health nurses (from 276 working days in 2024 to 184), midwives (from 910 to 798), monitors (from 92 to 62), assistants (from 920 to 830), pharmacy technicians (from 658 to 430) and auxiliary nursing care technicians (from 15,098 to 13,340), as well as radiodiagnostic technicians.

Recently, the Malaga medical union (SMM) claimed that a dozen doctors' contracts were not going to be renewed from June onwards.

The total number of working days planned to cover summer replacements in 2024 was 48,512. However, for the summer of 2025, the figure drops to 44,226, which "will have direct and serious consequences on healthcare", according to the UGT. In addition to this, there will be a cut in beds, operating theatres and outpatient clinics waiting lists will grow.

The trade union holds that workers are subjected to "an even greater work overload, which generates stressful situations, exhaustion and demotivation". This is why the UGT is calling for a recruitment plan that is adequate to the hospital's staffing needs.

The management of the Hospital Regional has responded that the holiday plan "adapts to the needs of both professionals and patients, with the aim of allowing workers to rest without compromising the quality of healthcare".

The centre's care planning "is dynamic and adjusts to seasonal variations, guaranteeing an adequate response to the changing needs of the population". According to the Junta, the plan was designed following "the guidelines of the SAS vacation plan, which, based on historical data and with a significant economic investment of 135 million euros at the regional level, guarantees efficient management of human resources".

"The commitment of the Andalusian public health service to increase the workforce with more than 30,000 new professionals and job stabilisation allows for better planning and management of resources. As for the Hospital Regional Universitario in Malaga, the economic investment allocated to this plan amounts to 4,200,000 euros, a figure that remains the same as last year," said the Junta.