New nursing president demands dignity, respect and recognition for profession

This Thursday, the new chairman of the Order of Nurses (OE) said the government must finally address the shortage of professionals and “give dignity, respect and recognition” to a profession that is “losing purchasing power every day.”

In an interview with Lusa, Luis Filipe Barreira, Ana Rita Cavaco’s successor, said that “the country still lacks a sufficient number of nurses,” which OE “cannot accept” because “it puts people’s lives at risk.”

Portugal should move closer to the OECD average [Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Económico] and the number of nurses is still much lower. Today we are still seeing the flight of many nurses because the country does not provide them with conditions, and nurses who gave their all during the Covid-19 pandemic are now being laid off,” said Luis Filipe Barreira.

Elected on Wednesday evening, Luis Filipe Barreira, who until now served as vice-president of the OE, will take office on December 20, his term of office will begin on January 1, 2024. “I believe that I will have a mandate that requires a lot of work for We strive to achieve consensus with everyone and help ensure the central role of nurses in the health system,” said the new president.

Luis Filipe Barreira reminded Lusa of the 10 commitments of his candidacy, points that are the strategic axes of the mandate for 2024-2027, highlighting the problems of the health system or the need to grant greater autonomy to institutions. “It is clear to all Portuguese that profound changes are needed in the health system. We must develop a new model of care that is more community-focused and protect the central role of nurses in primary health care,” he said.

Luis Filipe Barreira said that “the publication of the order for the creation of a working group to carry out a specialized internship should be published soon,” as he recalled the promise of the current Minister of Health Manuel Pizarro.

And as part of this theme, the new president emphasized that “it is important to enhance professional development and development,” as well as “strengthen the nursing education offering.” Luis Filipe Barreira wants the profession to be given “dignity, respect and recognition”, namely through remuneration, but also by lowering the retirement age and recognizing the nursing profession as a risky and wear-and-tear profession. “Today nurses face undignified wages. Nurses’ wages are increasingly approaching the national minimum wage.

Nurses have a huge loss of purchasing power (…). Negotiating is not within the competence of the Order, but we will and will influence the Ministry of Health and the next Minister of Health,” he said. Luis Filipe Barreira was elected president for the 2024/2027 term with 71% of the vote, according to preliminary data. published by the organization, the number of abstentions is about 80%.

“If we compare with the results of 2015, when Ana Rita Cavaco ran for the first time and six lists ran, 15 thousand nurses voted. Currently a single list [à liderança nacional]”There were 17,300 voters,” he said. There were two lists vying for the election: List A was submitted for the national leadership and all regional sections, and List B represented a candidate only for the regional part of Madeira. List B received the most votes in Madeira. regional authorities of Madeira with 51% of the votes.

The elections were held electronically, with access to voting open from 00:00 Monday to 20:00 Wednesday mainland Portuguese time. In the race to succeed Ana Rita Cavaco there was another name: child and pediatric health specialist Mario Andre Macedo, who announced his candidacy on July 22 in Leiria, but who saw the list excluded on the grounds that the delivery of documents took place after the established term.

Ana Rita Cavaco, the outgoing president, was unable to run due to term limits after spending seven years as leader. According to the Charter of the OE, created in 1998, cavaliers and members of the order’s bodies are elected for a term of four years and cannot hold this post for more than two consecutive terms.