After three years of retirement, José Luís da Silva Garcês, General and Family Medicine doctor, is the first doctor to sign a new contract with the Algarve Regional Health Administration, as part of the new procedure for hiring retired doctors recently launched by the Ministry of Health, thus helping the institution to strengthen health care in the region.
Yesterday, Monday, the 14th of June, the formalization of the acceptance of a job and the signing of a contract of employment in public functions with a fixed term took place, in order to return to practice medicine at the Personalized Health Care Unit of Almancil /Boliqueime (ACES Central). In addition to the doctor, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve (João Moura Reis) participated in the act, accompanied by the member Nuno Ramos.
With a 41-year career dedicated to medical practice within the framework of the National Health Service, this 65-year-old General and Family Medicine doctor retired in 2013.
But, according to ARS Algarve, «always willing to continue practicing medicine». After having decided to return to his home country, Mozambique, "out of nostalgia", because it was where he spent the first ten years of his career as a doctor, he returned to the Algarve in February 2016, intending to continue working in the NHS and already with registered users waiting for them.
"I can't be without work," explained José Luís da Silva Garcês. “I wanted to help my former users I know here again, while I'm helping. This practice goes far beyond the medical act itself. It has a social function too. We accompany and help families, which can be as or more important as the treatment itself,” he stressed.
«After a lifetime of work, now that we know a lot and with all this experience, I think it's a waste not to use our knowledge for the benefit of our users. We ended up as lovers of medicine. There is no other option», he stressed.
ARS Algarve recalls that the exercise of public functions or the provision of paid work by retired doctors is allowed, in services and establishments of the National Health Service, regardless of their legal nature, as an exceptional measure to address serious deficiencies in Doctors in care services.
With the publication of the diploma that approved the State Budget, there is also a new remuneration scheme for hiring retired medical personnel, with the aim of improving access and encouraging the return of a greater number of retired doctors to the NHS.
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