Hundreds of people march for public health in Lisbon

Leonor, 14, and Virgilio, 80, are two of hundreds of protesters who took part in a march organized by the CGTP in defense of the National Health Service in Lisbon this Saturday.

Virgílio Guerreiro, 80, holding an Inter-Reformados banner with the words “Strengthen social networks,” told Lusa that he participated in April 25, “one of the best moments in life,” and that 49 years later and such achievements , as public health, cannot accept the fact that “the social network is degrading, and health care is being given to the private sector, to those who have the money.”

When asked if he feels this humiliation when he goes to a clinic or hospital, he replied that “the only time he doesn’t feel it is if he is not paying attention.”

So, he said, he spent the last week talking to older people, especially in public gardens, so they could join the fight.

“This is not just criticism, we need to try to change for the better,” he defended himself.

The CGTP organized today the National Day to Protect and Strengthen the National Health Service with initiatives across the country, and in Lisbon there was a march that started next to the Marques de Pombal roundabout at 15:00 and ended at Praça Square. make Saldanha.

Participants, including medical unions, user committees and firefighters, shouted slogans such as “People deserve better social networks” and “Public belongs to all, private belongs to few.”

At the age of 14, originally from Almada, Leonor Diaz believed that “only by taking to the streets can you fight for rights.”

“Everyone has the right to health, this cannot be a business,” said a young woman belonging to the Portuguese Communist Youth (PCY).

“Health is a right, nothing can be done without it,” Maria Pinto shouted into a megaphone, leading a group made up mainly of women from the Commission of Users of Bom Sucesso and Arsen (Alverca, municipality of Vila Franca de Xira).

“The shortage of doctors in health centers is very chaotic, we have two places in our municipality (Aljandra and Forte da Casa) without family doctors,” he told Lusa.

According to the protester, SNS would be better off if “the government stopped giving money to private healthcare, if they raised wages and created conditions for health workers” because then they “would have more enthusiasm and more desire to compete.”

Leading the march was CGTP Secretary General Isabelle Camarinha, who told Lusa that the “disinvestment and underfunding of health care” carried out by successive governments must come to an end and that it was necessary to “value SNS workers and create conditions for them to practice their main profession.”

“However, SNS continues to be a great answer to the right to health in our country because of the commitment of workers and because people defend it because they know they need it, which is a right and an achievement of April that we cannot continue.” There is more than enough wealth to guarantee life for everyone, he said, pointing to the funds that run the 20 largest companies and economic groups.

Asked this week about the government’s approval of a work regime for the full dedication of doctors, Camarinha said that these are “discriminatory measures that do not solve the problem and do not guarantee decent and fair wages for those who carry out professional activities.” “.

In addition, doctors are required to work overtime as permitted by law. “They want them to give up rights that were negotiated and agreed upon in the collective agreement,” he said.

On Thursday, the government approved the diploma of a new model of family health units (USF) and created conditions for the expansion of the same model of self-organized multidisciplinary teams in hospitals based on the full dedication of professionals (with increased wages). for those who accept this regime).

The two main doctors’ unions – the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) and the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) – felt on the day that these measures did not solve the underlying problems and could even remove more specialists from the SNS. .

FNAM (affiliated with the CGTP) even stated that it would ask the President of the Republic to request a preventive review of the constitutionality of the diplomas.

FNAM President Joana Bordalo e Sá said that the remuneration compensation is insufficient and is paid “at the expense of the loss of rights that harm patients”, since the regime provides, for example, an increase in the duration of extraordinary hours from 150 to 250 hours. , an increase to nine hours of daily work and work on Saturdays, in addition to emergency services.

The SIM president also said that he had reservations about the approved full commitment regime precisely because it would entail a significant increase in the workload of doctors.

Chegi MP Pedro Frasan also attended the march organized by the CGTP, telling Lusa that “it is time to take to the streets and say that SNS must be protected.”

“What I heard in my speech is that it is time to say enough, we have been saying for years now that it is time to say enough, and in this case it is actually time to say enough to the increasingly incompetent NHS, we continue to see pregnant women dying, and if this Minister of Health managed to change something, it was for the worse,” the deputy believes.

In 2019, the party came under fire for arguing that the state should not interfere in the provision of health services but be the arbiter of the market, subsequently changing its political program to include universal and free health care.

When asked about Chega’s position on the SNS, Pedro Fraçao said that “Chega has always advocated that the health sector should have three pillars: social, public and private” and that a few months ago the party presented in parliament “15 measures to strengthen the National health service, medical professionals and their careers [que] were categorically rejected by the PS.”

Regarding whether Chegi activists participated in the rally organized by the VKTP, the deputy said that he did not know. “Honestly, I don’t know, there are thousands of people here, I don’t know, but I admit that they are there,” he said.

At the end of the march, participants approved a resolution containing several points, including protecting and strengthening social networks, increasing investment, improving working conditions for professionals and ending the “promiscuity” between social networks and the private sector, as well as an end to the partnership.