What changes for visitors and residents on La Palma?
If you have a medical appointment on La Palma, expect it to go ahead. On 4 November only 3 of 161 affected doctors stopped work, according to the Consejería de Sanidad (the Canary Islands health ministry).
That is 1.86%, which puts the island at the lower end among the Canaries. Across the SCS (Servicio Canario de la Salud, the Canary health service), 1,383 staff were on minimum service that morning.
The authority described a day without significant incidents. There are no details on cancelled appointments on La Palma, so if you are unsure, ask your health centre or surgery beforehand.
The authority has published no practical advice for patients so far. Its report also names no rules, deadlines or applications for visitors.
How are the other islands faring?
Gran Canaria saw the biggest walkout on 4 November, according to the Consejería: 155 of 1,553 doctors struck, or 9.98%. On Tenerife, 37 of 2,061 doctors walked out, which is 1.8%.
On Lanzarote, 4 of 236 doctors joined the strike, or 1.69%. On Fuerteventura, just 1 of 299 answered the call, which is 0.33%.
On La Gomera and El Hierro, nobody struck, according to the authority. Of the 7,281 doctors called up, the strike affected 4,164.
Why have doctors been on strike since 16 October?
The unions CESM Canarias and SEMCA want a «Plan Estratégico» and have called an open-ended strike from 16 October 2026 to get it. The plan has three pillars and 18 measures on pay, rest periods and a say for doctors.
The unions say talks began in July 2026 and got no reply from the SCS. They intend to strike for as long as it takes.
As of 27 October, the demands include shifts of 12 hours instead of 24 and higher pay. The sources gave no specific euro amounts.
Health minister Esther Monzón called the demands «ilógicas» (illogical) and «inalcanzables» (unattainable). CESM president Éric Álvarez, by contrast, complained of «silencio absoluto» (absolute silence) from the Consejería.
How has turnout on La Palma changed?
Turnout on La Palma has swung more than you might expect. On 17 March 2026, 8 of 161 doctors struck, or 4.97%, the Consejería reported.
When the open-ended strike began on 19 October, the figure was 4 of 166 doctors, or 2.41%. On 23 October, turnout on La Palma jumped to 9.09%, while across the Canaries it fell to 8.17%.
By 4 November the Canary-wide figure was down to 4.8%. Since March 2026 the figure on La Palma has mostly sat between about 2% and 5%, which makes the spike on 23 October the exception.
The unions traditionally report much higher figures than the authority. On 22 June 2026, the CESM spoke of 39%, while the Consejería said 7.8%.
What happens next?
None of the sources gave an end date for the strike. As of 23 October, no meeting between the unions and the health authority was scheduled, and our research found no later date.
CESM president Álvarez refused to end the strike before new talks. SEMCA representative Javier Luño asked regional president Fernando Clavijo to name a different negotiator.
Earlier rounds of strikes led to more than 57,000 cancelled appointments and almost 1,500 postponed operations, according to Redacción Médica. There are no figures for the current strike, so delays cannot be ruled out.