In a proposal presented this Thursday to trade unions, the Ministry of Health provides for a bonus of 500 euros per month for doctors providing emergency care and the possibility of choosing 35 hours per week.
The Independent Doctors’ Union and the National Federation of Doctors are meeting with guardianship representatives this afternoon, a month after the last extraordinary round of negotiations ended without an agreement.
The meeting comes as the NHS faces an emergency services crisis due to the refusal of more than 2,000 doctors to work overtime in addition to the mandatory 150 hours.
In a document shared with unions and accessed by Lusa, the Ministry of Health proposes a “new remuneration model” for emergency doctors, with an estimated 7,470 working 40 hours a week and 461 working 42 hours a week. hours (exclusive dedication), 333 – with a 35-hour week and 36 – with a 35-hour schedule (exclusive dedication).
Under the new model, physicians providing emergency services can choose between 35 hours per week, full time commitment (35 hours plus 5 hours), or remain at 40 hours per week.
The Ministry of Health’s proposal would equalize the basic salary of doctors (€3,025), representing an increase of 5.5% compared to the 3.6% presented in the last proposal, which was opposed by trade unions.
If they choose 35 or 40 hours per week, doctors, in addition to this 5.5% increase, will receive an emergency allowance (500 euros), resulting in an increase of 23.1%, while those who choose full return will also receive a 25% premium, bringing the increase to 49.5%.
For example, medical specialists at the beginning of their career (assistants) who choose full dedication will have a gross income of 4,280.31 euros, and senior assistants will have a gross income of 6,025.1 euros.
The Ministry of Health emphasizes that the full commitment regime, which is voluntary, is aimed at “better organization of hospital services” and “reducing the use of overtime.”
Under this regime, doctors will be required to provide one period of care per week in the afternoon or one Saturday morning per month, having one working day on which they do not work, without affecting their working hours.
Doctors who prefer to adhere to a 40-hour schedule retain a compensatory eight-hour rest at the expense of working time.
For doctors who do not provide emergency care, the proposal states that if they are willing to devote themselves fully to the practice, they will receive a 32% salary increase in order to achieve better organization of hospital services and an increase in care activity (two million more consultations in year).
Regarding the 10 thousand medical interns at SNS, the proposal envisages an increase of 2.9% for those undergoing general training, who will receive 1701.78 euros gross, 4.8% for those undergoing the first three years of training (2017, 58 euros) and 9.7% for the fourth year of the specialty (2228.11 euros).
In addition to the basic remuneration, young doctors will receive an exemption from IRS tax during their internship and an increase of 697 euros equivalent to their training fees, which will be returned to all young people who remain working in Portugal.
For primary care, the proposal that has already been presented to the unions remains unchanged, stating that a physician who moves from a family practice (USF) model A to a USF model B has a “minimum increase of 60%.” . ” and an average of 1700 users.
The document also states that negotiations on the terms of the creation of emergency Comprehensive Responsibility Centers (CRCs) will begin in November.
According to the data, there are currently 10 thousand interns working in the SNS, 6,350 in primary health care, and 15.3 thousand in hospitals.
Several hospitals in the country are having difficulty maintaining full team strengths, especially for emergency services, due to doctors’ refusal to work more than the 150 annual overtime hours required by law.
In a survey last week on overtime waivers, the National Federation of Physicians highlighted how the situation is leading to closures and restrictions on emergency services, as well as the scale of other hospital services.
Negotiations between the government and doctors’ unions began in 2022, but the parties failed to reach consensus on key issues such as a new pay scale and a new full commitment regime. During the negotiations, unions called several strikes to express their dissatisfaction with the impasse.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.