The doctors’ order requires an urgent meeting with the Minister of Health

This Sunday, the Medical Association asked the Health Secretary to hold an urgent meeting to find immediate solutions to end what it classifies as “the serious situation facing the National Health Service (SNS).”

According to the Order of Doctors, the situation in several hospitals from the north to the south of the country is serious, and next week there will be patients without access to medical care, without the Ministry of Health or the Executive Directorate of the SNS presenting concrete solutions.

Speaking to Lusa, the president of the Order of Physicians, Carlos Cortes, said this was an unprecedented crisis in the NHS and that there was a “great lack of sensitivity and common sense” on the part of the government regarding the need to improve the value and dignity of doctors.

“I have no doubt that what is happening now could become catastrophic in the coming months if nothing is done. This is an unprecedented crisis,” he said.

Carlos Cortes added that the information coming to the Medical Association is that about 25 hospitals cannot cover sensitive areas such as internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, cardiology, intensive care, gynecology and obstetrics.

“We know that the Guard will not be able to guarantee internal medicine, that Chaves has enormous difficulties in pediatrics, that in Barcelos there will also be no surgical intervention, that Viana do Castelo also faces the risk of ruptures in several areas that are absolutely fundamental to the response of social networks,” he said.

According to the president, “there has been a very dangerous distraction on the part of the government with regard to human resources in healthcare, medical workers, in this case specifically doctors”

“You cannot reform the SNA, you cannot improve the SNA, if you do not pay attention to these issues. Without doctors there is no National Health Service, without assessing doctors you cannot value the National Health Service,” he emphasized.