Unilateral Schedule Changes Spark Concern
The medical management of Bellvitge University Hospital has unilaterally moved living donor kidney transplant surgeries from the afternoon to the morning schedule, reducing the number of available afternoon operating slots by four per week. This change, implemented without a supporting technical or clinical report, follows the recent doctors' strike and has been condemned by medical staff as a reprisal. The shift affects a programme that has operated stably for over two decades, establishing Bellvitge as a national benchmark in transplant success. The afternoon sessions had been conducted as extra activities outside regular working hours, allowing for additional remuneration for participating professionals. According to the Sindicat Metges Units (SMU), this financial incentive has now been halted.
Medical Staff Protest Reprisal Claims
Doctors from the Urology, Nephrology, and Anesthesiology departments have formally objected to the changes, arguing they undermine patient care and violate the right to strike. They have submitted written complaints through department heads and the SMU, and filed transparency requests via the Generalitat's Transparency Portal, all without response.
These measures are not coincidental. They target departments that actively supported the strike,
, a statement from the SMU emphasized, linking the reorganisation directly to industrial action. The changes mean that routine surgeries previously scheduled in the morning must now be postponed, directly affecting waiting lists for non-transplant operations. The Parc de les Planes-Can Serra Residents' Association has sent letters to hospital management, the south sector health chief, and local authorities, urging a reversal of the decision and restoration of afternoon transplant sessions.
Further Cuts Announced for November
Adding to the pressure, hospital management has informed departments of an upcoming suspension of eight urology operating sessions in November. This move is expected to further strain surgical capacity and extend delays for patients awaiting procedures. The controversy comes shortly after Bellvitge made international headlines by performing Europe's first single-port robotic kidney transplant on 20 September 2026, highlighting the hospital's advanced capabilities in transplant surgery. However, the current administrative changes threaten to undermine this reputation by disrupting long-standing operational rhythms. Residents and medical staff are calling for the publication of any report that justified the scheduling changes or, alternatively, an acknowledgment that the move constitutes administrative coercion in response to strike participation.
Sources: L'Estaca, bellvitgehospital.cat, russpain.com, Generalitat de Catalunya.
