800 ACV patients have agreed to operate in concerted centres

800 patientswho had been waiting for surgery for more than 150 days have confirmed the referral to the agreed centres, a measure that has made it possible to stop the increase in the waiting list and to ensure emergency care, as reported this Friday by the Basque Government's Department of Health.

TheBasque Government's Health Adviser, Alberto Martínez , has stressed that "the priority is to ensure the safety and care of patients"and has made available all available options.

The state strike by doctors against the Framework Statute proposed by the Ministry of Health in recent weeks has had a major impact on waiting lists. The weeks of strike since December 2025 have had a direct impact on public care activity and delays have increased. This has forced the Department of Health to give priority to care for the most vulnerable patients and to offer the possibility of referral to those who accept it.

The Health Counsellor has explained that after the strike, which has been going on for more than three weeks and is expected tocontinue, the number of patients waiting for more than 180 days has risen to 1,800.

With regard to the labour dispute, the Counsellor has criticised the lackof progress in the negotiation between the Ministry of Health and the strike committee on the Framework Statute and has stated that  "has not been interviewed in the last month", so the Basque Government "has all the options open to the protection of citizens". Martinez has stressed that the Department's priorities are patient safety and continuity of care activity.

In view of this situation, he has announced that the Basque Government has formally sent a letter tothe Ministry of Health requesting a meeting to discuss the possibility of transferring powers relating to the Framework Statute to the Department of Health of the Basque Government. "If the Ministry does nothing, we ask that the transfer of powers be explored so that it can fully fulfil the functions necessary to defend the health care of the citizens", he said.

In that letter, Martinez warns that in recent weeks there has been no dialogue between the Ministry and the medical representatives and, if nothing changes, there may be two weeks of unemployment next month and a half, "without ruling out an indefinite strike. "

Finally, Martínez recalled that, according to the official report prepared by the Ministry of Health earlier this week, the Basque Country is the autonomous community that invests the most in health, both per capita and per professional.