The public health network in Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa will be cut by Christmas. Osakidetza presented last week the "special" hours of health centers, outpatient clinics and clinics, which this year are more limited than in previous years: In total, they will be reduced in 110 CAV and Navarra centres. At this time it is usual, for example, that the points of care be closed earlier: in many centers that close their doors at 20:00 hours throughout the year, the closure has been advanced at 17:00 hours, and those that normally close at 17:00 hours will do so at 15:00. Other areas have been completely closed.

At Christmas, as in summer, Osakidetza reduces the health service, justifying the holidays of the workers and referring to the alleged drop in demand. Last summer, for example, 35% of primary care centers were closed or with reduced hours. The "good weather" and the "scarce presence of diseases of the respiratory system" justified the closures and cuts, but that is not being met now, in the middle of the winter, and health care has been equally limited. Workers and trade unions reported this summer that Osakidetza applies some kind of cut for 180 days a year on the pretext of "special" calendars.

Compared to the previous Christmas, this year the restrictive measures affect more centres and the trend is upward: These are 110 closed or bounded centers, 104 affected last year, 90 in 2022 and 62 in 2021. During the past year, however, no other centres, such as Álava, were taken into account and no restrictions were expected at Christmas, as some of the limits came into force on 1 December. In the last Christmas, in addition, the waiting times at the points of attention were up to ten hours.

The adaptation measures of this Christmas are the first designed by the new management team of the Basque health network, led by the Health Advisor, Alberto Martínez, and the general director of Osakidetza, Susana López. The summer restrictions also applied them, but they were organized by the previous leaders.