Merit-based competition for emergency physicians at CHUO: what changes in 2026

Key data

Emergency hospital physicians at the University Hospital Complex of Ourense (CHUO) have had an extraordinary route to permanent positions since August 1, 2026: merit-based competition without opposition. Law 4/2026, of July 13, modifies the Galician Law 2/2022 to expressly include this professional category in the special regime for filling hard-to-cover positions at the Galician Health Service (SERGAS).

The measure responds to a documented structural problem: ordinary selection systems have been unable to fill these positions, with chronic candidate shortages and absence of applications in transfer processes. The law formally recognizes that impossibility and enables a stable solution.

What does this regulation establish?

Law 4/2026 expands the scope of Law 2/2022 to incorporate emergency hospital physicians at CHUO into the extraordinary regime for filling hard-to-cover positions. The specific changes compared to the previous framework are as follows:

The central mechanism is the merit-based competition: a selection process in which there is no opposition phase (eliminatory exam), and in which selection is based on the merits accredited by the candidate, especially prior experience in the position. Selected personnel acquire permanent status at SERGAS.

The law also includes a specific transitional provision for selection processes that were already initiated before its entry into force, ensuring legal certainty for ongoing procedures.

Economic and operational impact

For SERGAS, the measure has a direct operational impact: it allows stable filling of positions that have been repeatedly left vacant, reducing dependence on temporary contracts, shifts covered by external personnel, or emergency services with insufficient staffing.

For affected physicians, the impact is significant in terms of job stability and employment conditions:

• Access to permanent status without needing to pass a traditional opposition exam.
• Greater valuation of prior experience, which especially benefits those who have spent years filling these positions on temporary or interim basis.
• Legal certainty regarding already initiated processes, thanks to the transitional provision.
• Clear time horizon: the extraordinary regime is valid until 2028, which limits the period in which it can be requested and processed.

From a hospital management perspective, stabilizing emergency department staffing reduces costs associated with turnover, continuous training of replacements, and last-minute shift coverage management.

Who does it affect?

• Emergency hospital physicians at CHUO (University Hospital Complex of Ourense) who occupy or have occupied hard-to-cover positions on temporary or interim basis.
• Human Resources Management at SERGAS and CHUO, responsible for calling and managing selection processes under this regime.
• Statutory health science specialist personnel at SERGAS already included in Law 2/2022, whose regulatory framework is complemented by this modification.
• Candidates with selection processes already initiated before August 1, 2026, whose situation is regulated by the specific transitional provision.

Practical example

An emergency hospital medicine specialist who has spent four years covering shifts at CHUO through interim contracts, in a position that has been left vacant in two consecutive transfer calls and for which no candidates applied in the last ordinary process, can now apply for the permanent position through the merit-based competition enabled by Law 4/2026.

In that competition, their accumulated experience in the position will have greater weight than in an ordinary process. They will not need to pass any opposition phase (eliminatory exam). If selected, they acquire permanent statutory personnel status at SERGAS, with all the stability guarantees that entails.

If that same physician was already participating in a selection process initiated before August 1, 2026, their situation is protected by the specific transitional provision of Law 4/2026, which regulates how the new regulation applies to ongoing procedures.

What should professionals do now?

1. Verify if you meet the requirements to be included in the extraordinary regime: you must be an emergency hospital physician at CHUO and occupy or have occupied a position classified as hard-to-cover.
2. Accredit and document prior experience in the position, as it will have greater weight in merit-based competition. Gather contracts, certificates of services rendered, and any document proving time worked in CHUO emergency services.
3. Check the status of selection processes called by SERGAS under the modified Law 2/2022, to learn about deadlines and participation conditions.
4. If you are already participating in a process initiated before 1/08/2026, review the specific transitional provision of Law 4/2026 to understand how it affects your ongoing procedure.
5. Act before 2028: the extraordinary regime has limited validity until that date. Processes must be initiated and resolved within that timeframe.

Official source

View complete regulation at official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-16666