Doctors stage carnival-style protest march in Barcelona over workload in fresh strike

Doctors took to the streets of Barcelona on Friday morning in a new day of strike action, following an earlier strike on Monday this week. The walkout forms part of a five-day strike call across Spain. 

Organised by Metges de Catalunya, or Doctors of Catalonia, hundreds of doctors joined a protest parade called the "Carnival of Privileges," which set off from the Department of Health and is set to return to the same point. 

The march is split into five themed groups symbolising the main grievances raised by the profession: 24-hour on-call shifts, excessive workloads, work-life balance, working hours and staff shortages.

On Monday, the Department of Health said participation stood at 6.5% in the morning and 5.5% in the afternoon. Metges de Catalunya, however, put the figure at 39%, with 44% participation in primary care centres and 25% in hospitals.