Special By By Amanda Payne Dec 19, 2011 in World Spain's health care system is in virtual meltdown as the various provinces run out of money to pay for essential services such as operations and tests such as MRI scans and X-rays. Now pharmacies are striking. The system works in this way. A worker goes to his doctor and gets a prescription which he then takes to his pharmacy. The pharmacy dispenses the medication and the worker pays 40 per cent of the cost. The government then pays the other 60 per cent to the pharmacists. Those who are retired or disabled have the total cost of their medications paid for by the government. However the pharmacies in the Valencian community haven't received any payment since the end of July apart from a very small amount just before the recent Spanish general elections. The debt to pharmacies in the Communidad Valencia alone has reached over 60 million Euros. We spoke to local pharmacies who told us, "We want to provide a good service to our clients, but we feel that we cannot do so when we don't have the money the government owes us. We do not want to go on strike but we feel that this is the only way the government will listen to us." Another pharmacist told us simply "We want our money" Large pharmaceutical companies such as Roche and Novo Nordisk are becoming more and more reluctant to supply medicines to Spain as the crisis deepens. Its not just the pharmacies that are suffering. In Catalonia, health centres have been closed and all but essential operations cancelled. One woman This kind of incident is occurring across Spain with patients dying due to the lack of proper health care. A The newly elected government of Mariano Rajoy', who was formally inducted into office Dec 19. has insisted that they will get money rolling into the system so that people can be assured of a safe and efficient health service. In the meantime, many Spaniards are turning to private health companies to provide the health care and treatment they need. Dec 19 saw the start of a three day strike by pharmacies across the Communidad Valencia in protest at the non payment of monies owed by the government. The crisis has reached a point where some pharmacies are refusing to order in expensive medicines, such as treatments for cancer, as they know that they will not receive the money from the government and will therefore be unable to pay their own debts to suppliers.The system works in this way. A worker goes to his doctor and gets a prescription which he then takes to his pharmacy. The pharmacy dispenses the medication and the worker pays 40 per cent of the cost. The government then pays the other 60 per cent to the pharmacists. Those who are retired or disabled have the total cost of their medications paid for by the government. However the pharmacies in the Valencian community haven't received any payment since the end of July apart from a very small amount just before the recent Spanish general elections. The debt to pharmacies in the Communidad Valencia alone has reached over 60 million Euros.We spoke to local pharmacies who told us, "We want to provide a good service to our clients, but we feel that we cannot do so when we don't have the money the government owes us. We do not want to go on strike but we feel that this is the only way the government will listen to us." Another pharmacist told us simply "We want our money" Large pharmaceutical companies such as Roche and Novo Nordisk are becoming more and more reluctant to supply medicines to Spain as the crisis deepens.Its not just the pharmacies that are suffering. In Catalonia, health centres have been closed and all but essential operations cancelled. One woman died of a stroke after having to visit four hospitals before she could be treated by which time it was too late.This kind of incident is occurring across Spain with patients dying due to the lack of proper health care. A hospital in Torrevieja , Costa Blanca, is being sued by parents of five children who have died this year in the paediatric department with a total of seven doctors indicted.The newly elected government of Mariano Rajoy', who was formally inducted into office Dec 19. has insisted that they will get money rolling into the system so that people can be assured of a safe and efficient health service. In the meantime, many Spaniards are turning to private health companies to provide the health care and treatment they need. More about Spain, pharmacy strike, Mariano Rajoy, spanish health system, diario informacion More news from Spain pharmacy strike Mariano Rajoy spanish health syste... diario informacion