Manuel Pizarro is confident significant steps will be taken for doctors and the National Health Service.

On Monday, the Health Secretary said he was confident “very important steps” would be taken to find a “balance” with unions that value doctors’ careers and working conditions without reducing the capacity of the NHS.

The ministerial group, led by Minister Manuel Pizarro, spent more than nine hours on Sunday in a negotiating meeting that ended after 2am on Monday with the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) and the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam), without reaching an agreement, with a new meeting scheduled for Tuesday .

Answering a question from deputies of the Health Committee, where he was heard from 9:00 a.m., about the negotiations, the Minister of Health began by indicating that he could not go into details of negotiations with medical trade unions, since “negotiations are ongoing.”

“This is truly one of those cases where negotiations must be conducted with respect for the parties at the negotiating table,” stressed Manuel Pizarro, but expressed confidence: “I think we will take very important steps” to achieve “articulation” and “balance.” , which at first glance may seem very difficult.”

According to the official, “It is a balance between recognizing and appreciating the medical careers and the careers of other health care workers who have had to make absolutely extraordinary efforts during the pandemic and who, in the wake of the pandemic, the country has asked to work even harder to meet the care challenges caused by the pandemic.”

Manuel Pizarro stressed the importance of achieving this balance by valorizing the careers and working conditions of professionals, “with the guarantee that this does not lead to any reduction in the capacity of the National Health Service” and the ability to reorganize the SNA. for the benefit of citizens, as well as for the benefit of the specialists themselves.”

Leaving this Monday’s meeting at 2:15 a.m., Manuel Pizarro told reporters that “the SNA is a valuable asset for the Portuguese, but it needs to be reorganized.”

Regarding the restoration of the 35-hour work schedule for all doctors, Pizarro emphasized that “the agreement will be made globally”: “This was one of the very difficult topics of these negotiations: how we could at the same time achieve a reduction in working hours and ensure that so that the SNA does not lose its efficiency.”

Negotiations between the Ministry of Health and SIM and Fnam began in 2022, but the lack of an agreement has intensified doctors’ struggles with strikes and claims to justify working overtime beyond the mandatory 150 hours a year, prompting restrictions and the closure of emergency services in hospitals across the country.