Healthcare professionals in Spain took part in a series of demonstrations across the country as nurses and physiotherapists say they are making a stand about what they claim is a chronic lack of investment and resources in the healthcare industry.

Almost two years ago, Spain went into lockdown to try to halt the spread of COVID-19. The pressure on medical and healthcare workers since then has been relentless and they want the public to know.

Healthcare sector close to collapse

CGTN Europe attended one of the protests at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon Hospital. Ricardo Furio is a spokesperson for the SATSE nursing union. He said the crisis was nothing new: "We have been dealing with this issue for a very long time and the pandemic made that situation worse.

"The main problem is simply a lack of nurses, physiotherapists and health workers," he said.

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Nurse Elena Taboada said the situation was making her profession much less attractive both to current employees and anyone thinking of working in healthcare.

"A lot of young people simply couldn't cope with the pressure during the pandemic. So many of them quit being nurses," she explained.

Unions have claimed that the huge increase in workload has led to a worsening in the quality of care they can provide and that has been evident in the backlog of surgery, consultancy and tests.

On average, nurses care for around 20 to 25 patients in one shift, plus up to four within intensive care units. The safety ratio is set by Spain's national health service is eight patients per nurse.

WATCH: Rahul Pathak sent in this report from the protests

A mental and physical toll

Healthcare workers are demanding change as the crisis has taken a physical and mental toll on the wellbeing of those within their industry.

The government of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has stated that public health spending will increase by over 2 percent a year for the next decade. 

The health workers we spoke to say the lack of job security, low wages and mental strain have deterred many from entering the profession.

For the 400,000 nurses and physiotherapists who have endured some of the toughest working conditions in recent history, they certainly hope those issues can be addressed and soon.