What changes for visitors and residents on Gran Canaria?
The delays coincide with protests by doctors, who are mobilising on that day. The report gives no exact cause, no march route and no times.
Based on the information available, no restriction is confirmed for visitors in the south of the island. No road closures or diversions have been published for 4 November either.
If you need to drive to the capital or to the Hospital Insular on 4 November, allow extra time. If you have an appointment in the public health service, ask at your health centre beforehand, as there are no figures on cancelled appointments for this strike.
How many doctors are taking part in the strike?
On Tuesday 3 November, 201 of the 4,076 doctors affected in the Servicio Canario de la Salud (SCS, the Canary Islands health service) went on strike, according to the Consejería de Sanidad (the regional health department). That is 4.93%.
On Gran Canaria it was 149 of 1,479 doctors, or 10.07%, and on Tenerife 44 doctors, or 2.17%. Gran Canaria therefore had the highest turnout of any island.
The Consejería said the morning passed without notable incidents. The unions, however, put turnout for the same day at 41.4% across the archipelago.
On 23 October, the health administration's figures at the time showed turnout of 8.17%, or 318 of 3,892 doctors. It was 14.89% on Gran Canaria, 4.82% on Lanzarote and 9.09% on La Palma.
On Fuerteventura, La Gomera and El Hierro nobody struck that day. The gap was just as wide in June: for 22 June Sanidad reported 7.8%, while the CESM union reported 39%.
What exactly are the doctors demanding?
Working hours are at the centre. The doctors reject 24-hour shifts (guardias), and they want on-call duty to count within the 35-hour week, enough rest after every shift and an hour of on-call work to count for at least as much as a normal hour.
A second demand concerns trainee doctors. They want no more than five shifts a month, better pay and contracts after training, so that specialists stay in the Canary Islands.
On social media, their message is, in essence, that trainees are there to learn, not to fill staffing gaps. For doctors aged 60 and over, they want shifts to become voluntary, plus two days off and two extra days of holiday.
They also propose that older doctors have 12% fewer consultation slots. The aim is to keep them in the public system for longer.
On money, the two sides are far apart: reports at the start of the strike put the unions' demands at around 150 million euros. The administration offers around 50 million euros and says anything more would come at the expense of patient care.
How did the dispute in the health service come about?
The Sindicato Médico Canario (CESM Canarias) and the Sindicato de Empleados Médicos de Canarias (SEMCA) called the strike on 7 October. They set out “18 objetivos” (18 objectives) for better working conditions and better public care.
The UGT union had earlier reached a preliminary agreement with the Consejería and is no longer part of the dispute. CESM and SEMCA rejected that deal and criticised the authority for not replying to their strategy plan.
The two unions turned down a proposal of 11 October because the contract terms were unclear. On 27 October, around 300 doctors and relatives marched along Avenida Mesa y López from the naval base to Plaza de España in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Union president Éric Álvarez spoke of “absolute silence” from the health administration. Health minister Esther Monzón called the demands illogical and unattainable.
The Canary Islands' Consejería de Sanidad decides working conditions and pay in the SCS. It also sets minimum service levels, while the Estatuto Marco (the framework statute for doctors) is a matter for Spain's health ministry.
What is still open and what comes next?
We found no order on minimum services for this strike. In the June strike, 100% minimum service applied to emergency departments, oncology, dialysis and pharmacy, but that is not confirmed for October and November.
The outcome of the meeting of coordinators and executive committees on Thursday 29 October is not known. No date has been published for the next round of talks either.
Waiting lists are already under strain: data as of 30 June 2026 show 34,382 patients waiting for surgery, 7.8% more than a year earlier. The average wait for an operation is 107 days, against 121 days across Spain.
The strikes cut surgical activity by 3% in the first half of 2026. The Canary Islands elect a new parliament in May 2027, and the 2027 budget is still pending.