Doctors lost 18% of their purchasing power between 2011 and 2022.

Physicians lost 18% of their purchasing power between 2011 and 2022, and the decline in average earnings “is contributing to the deterioration of the attractiveness of the National Health Service” (SNS), according to a report released Tuesday.

“It looks like doctors lost 18% of their purchasing power in 2022 compared to 2011. In the case of nurses, purchasing power fell by 3%,” according to an analysis by human resources researchers Pedro Pita Barros and Eduardo Costa. for good health.

This study is part of the Department of Health Economics, part of a social justice initiative that is the result of a partnership between the Fondazione “la Caixa”, BPI and the Faculty of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (New SBE).

The paper notes that, in contrast to medical workers, the purchasing power of the remaining national workers grew by an average of 6% over the same period, despite a significant drop in 2022 due to a sudden increase in inflation.

“The negative evolution of social media pay for medical workers is contributing to the deterioration of the attractiveness of social networks,” warn the researchers, who the recovery period recorded before the pandemic “was not enough to significantly recover from the hardships experienced during the financial crisis and face the recent price dynamics “.

In addition, in recent years, remuneration bonuses such as overtime have gained weight in the total remuneration of social media professionals as they are used to “mitigate the loss in purchasing power associated with the slow development of the base remuneration,” the paper highlights.

The report also notes that the labor market for healthcare professionals, particularly doctors, is characterized by “some level of competition” between different healthcare providers.

“The ability to work simultaneously in more than one sector, combined with high demand for healthcare professionals, is putting increased pressure on SNS,” the paper also warns, noting that the growth of the private sector over the past few decades could fuel increased competition among healthcare professionals.

For doctors, in 2011 an average monthly salary (base salary plus benefits) of 3,729 euros was recorded, a value that dropped by 5% to 3,558 euros, a decrease over time that can also be explained by various effects, such as the high retirement rate of doctors with higher salaries.

For nurses, average monthly earnings increased by 14% between 2011 and 2022, growth “particularly pronounced in 2018 and 2019 with a growth rate of around 6%.”

“The increase in the country’s minimum wage was much larger than the salary increase for medical workers in the SNA, which shortened this distance,” the report adds.

In 2011, the average salary of doctors corresponded to 7.7 times the minimum wage, and in 2022 it was reduced to 5.1 times the amount, the document says.

As for social networking nurses, average earnings in relation to minimum wage decreased from 3.2 in 2011 to 2.5 in 2022.

“Given the expected evolution of the national minimum wage by 2026 – the year when it should reach 900 euros – it will be necessary to increase the pay of doctors and nurses between 2023 and 2026 by 82% and 63%, respectively, in order to restore the difference between wages wages of medical workers and the minimum wage registered in 2011, ”the study cites.

“Therefore, the restoration of this difference seems unattainable,” Pedro Pita Barros and Eduardo Costa admit in the report.

PC // FPA

Lusa/The End