The National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) this Monday accused the Minister of Health of having “pushed the country into a declared tragedy” with the risk of loss of life, and considered that the government’s proposal for these specialists is “full of inequality”.
“ABOUT [ministro da Saúde] Dr. Manuel Pizarro is unfortunately pushing the country towards a declared tragedy, where deaths may occur, where other tragedies may occur, and the responsibility lies entirely with the government if it does nothing or takes into account what doctors have in this negotiation process “, accused Fnam president Joana Bordalo e Sa at the end of an urgent meeting of the Medical Forum in Porto.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the same meeting, the president of the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) warned that three days before a new meeting with the government scheduled for Thursday, unions were still unaware of the executive’s proposal and that, despite some openness, “everyone there is still an ocean separating the two parts.”
“We are extremely concerned about the development of the situation, because at that meeting there was [na quinta-feira entre o ministro da Saúde e os sindicatos dos médicos]there is some openness, but we are still an ocean away from reaching a final agreement,” said Jorge Roque da Cunha.
According to the unionist, “It is not enough for the government to announce a proposal, there must be concrete measures in relation to what the government has announced. There are three days left before the meeting, and we still don’t have specific documents.” , he criticized.
Fnam, which planned a strike for Tuesday and Wednesday, also criticized the government for not yet making public proposals it is putting forward at a meeting on Thursday on the situation of NHS doctors.
“As for what will happen, one can only guess. There has not yet been a single written proposal other than the one that was made to us on Thursday, which simply gave us projections of what a different pay scale might be,” he said. – Joana Bordalo and Sa.
As he explained, the government’s proposal, presented following the results of the last meeting with the government, is “full of inequality.”
“It’s different for a hospital doctor and a family doctor, and that doesn’t even take into account public health doctors. It’s different for a hospital physician who provides emergency care and one who does not provide emergency care, but it’s different for internal physicians. , older doctors are not taken into account here,” he said.
According to Joana Bordalo e Sa, Fnam wants a written proposal and wants “to know what the government has decided to legislate unilaterally in the Council of Ministers regarding the new regime of full dedication and the issue of family health institutions.”
“They decided not to listen to the medical unions and not to take into account Fnam’s proposals on both issues (…). Without us knowing these documents and any complete proposals regarding the pay scale and our working conditions, it will be very difficult. an agreement could be reached on Thursday, although we hope that there will be an open possibility and that it will be implemented on paper,” the FNAM president warned.
This Monday, representatives of the Medical Forum, the National Association of Doctors of Public Health, the National Federation of Doctors, the Independent Union of Doctors, the Association of Portuguese Doctors of the Pharmaceutical Industry, the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine, the Federation of the Portuguese Scientific and Medical Society, the Portuguese Association of Hospital Professional Doctors and the National Students’ Association -medics as an invited observer.