What changes for visitors and residents on the islands?
The indefinite strike covers the whole public health service of the Canary Islands, the Servicio Canario de la Salud (SCS), so Tenerife is affected too. Wednesday's blockade, however, took place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, because the Insular hospital is not in Tenerife.
Reports point to postponed appointments, operations and tests, and to full emergency departments in public hospitals. No figures exist for cancelled appointments or for how many doctors have joined the strike since 16 October.
Emergencies are still being treated, but the rules on minimum services are not confirmed. Nobody has yet published official advice on how patients can rebook cancelled appointments.
Anyone with an appointment or procedure at a public hospital in the coming days should ask the centre directly. The reports do not say whether private clinics are affected.
What happened at the Insular hospital on Wednesday morning?
At daybreak on Wednesday 4 November, doctors occupied the pedestrian crossing at the entrance to the Insular Materno Infantil hospital complex. Long tailbacks built up on the Avenida Marítima in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The doctors want to force the SCS back to the negotiating table. No meeting that could settle the dispute has been scheduled.
Éric Álvarez, president of the doctors' union Sindicato Médico de Canarias, blames the Consejería de Sanidad (the Canary Islands health department) for the blockade. He said emergency departments are starting to collapse because the SCS will not call the strike committee to talks.
There has been no contact since 14 October, Álvarez said. He called the silence “the most real form of mistreatment” of the public by the SCS.
Why have the doctors been on strike since 16 October?
The strike began on Friday 16 October 2026 after talks with the SCS broke down. The unions CESM Canarias and SEMCA called it.
It runs separately from the national dispute over the Estatuto Marco, the framework statute for health staff. It involves SCS staff only.
The doctors want higher pay, better working conditions and better payment for on-call shifts (guardias). They also demand proper rest after shifts and a separate negotiating framework for doctors.
Álvarez speaks of exhausted doctors and points to a drift to the private sector and to other regions. That leaves gaps in staffing exactly where waiting lists are already long.
How far apart are the doctors and the health authority?
According to Canarian media reports, the doctors' demands add up to around 150 million euros, against an SCS offer of around 50 million. The gap is three times what the authority is offering.
Consejera de Sanidad Esther Monzón says the offer includes 14 improvements and a 47% higher hourly rate for on-call duty. She urged doctors to accept it before the budget closes at the end of the year.
The unions rejected the 16 October proposal. They say it is identical to the one of 11 September and that unclear points remain open.
At a demonstration on 27 October, around 300 doctors and relatives marched along Calle Mesa y López in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Monzón called the demands illogical and unattainable there, while Álvarez said he would not call off the strike.
Javier Luño of SEMCA asked the president of the regional government to appoint a different negotiator. Meetings between service coordinators and the strike committee were set for 30 October, but no result has been reported.
How strained are emergency departments and waiting lists already?
The Insular emergency department reported a new collapse on 11 February 2026, with 200 to 300 patients a day. Staff said more than 100 beds were taken by patients who could already have been discharged.
On 23 July Monzón rejected the word collapse and spoke of strained care. She cited 6 million euros in the budget for planning the Insular extension, but there is no date for the tender.
According to Wednesday's report, the strike is lengthening waiting lists because appointments, operations and tests are being postponed. The report gave no figures.
The statistics office ISTAC publishes waiting-list figures twice a year, by island and specialty. Anyone who wants to check will find the latest numbers there.
Tenerife has been involved before. On 17 June, according to Sanidad, 188 doctors in Tenerife and 130 in Gran Canaria answered the strike call. In all, 337 of 4,467 doctors affected took part.
What happens next in the dispute?
No date for new talks is known. It is also unclear whether Sanidad has responded since 4 November.
Nor is it clear how many doctors are on strike now, or whether the 30 October meeting achieved anything. By Monzón's account, the SCS offer stands only until the budget closes at the end of the year.
The unions are still relying on pressure from the street, as the Insular blockade shows. Anyone with an appointment at a public hospital should expect postponements until a deal is reached.