The health minister has “no a priori restrictions” in negotiations with doctors, nurses and pharmacists

The Health Minister said this Saturday that she has “no a priori restrictions” in negotiations with the unions of doctors, nurses and pharmacists, admitting that she is still not aware of the demands of these health workers.

“The unions at the meetings that we are going to hold will present their specifications and we will discuss with all seriousness and loyalty these specifications that we do not yet know about at the moment,” concluded Minister Ana Paula Martins. conference “Does Portugal want more Europe… in health?”, which took place today at the Champalimaud Foundation in Lisbon.

Ana Paula Martins was referring to the first meetings between the new ministerial team and the doctors’, nurses’ and pharmacists’ unions starting next week.

Speaking to reporters, he said the government intends to “go as far as possible” by ensuring it is available to reach the “necessary and possible consensus”.

“We are very keen to find common ground, so we have no a priori restrictions,” he said.

Asked about a recent complaint from the Independent Medical Association (SIM) about irregularities in the payrolls of some professionals who were not being paid, the minister declined to comment, saying he was not aware of the cases: “I have no factual information. knowledge No information on this matter was received from the Ministry of Health and the Cabinet of Ministers.”

Ana Paula Martins also reported that before the union meetings, this Monday, she will begin to receive several professional orders that have prepared a document that indicates the priorities of the legislature.

The Order of Psychologists is one of the organizations that will be present at these meetings where the issue of psychological counseling will be addressed.

At the meeting at the Champalimaud Foundation, the minister emphasized the importance of mental and psychological health as one of the priorities of the ministry and government, promising to strengthen the National Mental Health Program by the end of 2026.

“We really want to talk about counseling psychologists and their proper integration into the National Mental Health Programme, which is at a very good pace and has a project that has already begun and will continue, and which we will continue to support and strengthen until the end. 2026.”

At the meeting, the minister also named the fight against cancer as one of the government’s priorities, saying that more funds are also needed in this area.

Health is one of the themes of three debates taking place at the Champalimaud Foundation on Europe, which are promoted in partnership with the public organizations Nossa Europa, SEDES (Association for Economic and Social Development) and the Center for European Policy.