Health Minister Manuel Pizarro said this Sunday that he will agree to a phased reduction in the number of hours that doctors work at SNS, but in return he wants doctors to support the reorganization of services.
“I hope we can get a lot closer, I foresee long negotiations, but we have finally said yes to two key demands from doctors, but we can’t help but ensure these changes lead to better conditions for the NHS ) and for the Portuguese,” the minister said when entering a meeting with medical unions.
“These changes may even seem paradoxical, because the Portuguese see difficulties in accessing healthcare, and we agree to reduce the hours and the number of hours they work on social networks, so there must be a “but”, and Compensation is the support of medical unions in the reorganization services so as not to jeopardize the health of the Portuguese people,” a government official told reporters ahead of a meeting this afternoon at the Ministry of Health.
“We did it today [este domingo] another huge approximation to the demands of the doctors, who agreed to gradually and gradually generalize the 35-hour schedule and gradually reduce the number of emergency hours, but all the Portuguese understand that this can only be done as long as we can provide an outcome rate that guarantees that these changes will not jeopardize the health care of the Portuguese,” said Manuel Pizarro.
Speaking to reporters at the entrance to a joint meeting of the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) and the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) taking place at the ministry this afternoon, the government official also stressed that “there is consistency in the idea that doctors’ working hours are the same as other NHS workers, just as it makes sense for them to manage 12-hour emergencies, but in a way that ensures that failure is not the care that Portuguese people need.”
Negotiations between the Ministry of Health, SIM and FNAM began in 2022, but the lack of an agreement has intensified doctors’ struggle with strikes and claims to justify overtime work beyond the mandatory 150 hours a year, leading to restrictions and closures of health facilities. emergency services in hospitals across the country.
The situation prompted SNS chief executive Fernando Araujo to warn that unless doctors reach an agreement with the government, November could be the worst month in SNS’s 44 years of existence.