The Minister of Health expressed confidence today that "very significant steps" will be taken to find "a balance" with the unions that values the career and working conditions of doctors without reducing the NHS's care capacity.
The ministerial team, led by Manuel Pizarro, met for more than nine hours on Sunday, in a negotiating meeting that ended after 2am today, with the Independent Doctors' Union (SIM) and the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) without reaching an agreement, with a new meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
Questioned by deputies in the Health Committee, where he has been heard since 9:00 am, about the negotiations, the Minister of Health began by pointing out that he could not go into detail on the subject of negotiations with medical unions, because the "negotiations are being take place”.
«This is really one of those cases in which negotiation must be carried out respecting the parties at the negotiation table», stressed Manuel Pizarro, but said he was confident: «I think we are going to take very significant steps» to reach «an articulation» and «a balance that could seem, at first, very difficult».
According to the official, «it is the balance between recognizing and valuing the medical career and the careers of other health professionals who were exposed during the pandemic to an absolutely extraordinary effort and who, after the pandemic, the country asked to work even harder to solve the assistance problems that the pandemic had caused».
Manuel Pizarro highlighted the importance of achieving this balance with the valorization of professionals' careers and working conditions, «with the guarantee that this does not result in any reduction in the assistance capacity of the National Health Service» and the ability to reorganize « the SNS in favor of citizens and also in favor of professionals themselves».
Upon leaving the meeting, at 2:15 am this Monday, Manuel Pizarro told journalists that «the SNS is a precious asset for the Portuguese but that it needs to be reorganized».
Regarding the reinstatement of the 35-hour weekly schedule for all doctors, Pizarro stressed that the "agreement will be made globally": "That was one of the very difficult issues in this negotiation, how could we at the same time make a reduction in the working hours and ensure that the SNS did not lose any of its responsiveness».
Negotiations between the Ministry of Health and SIM and Fnam began in 2022, but the lack of agreement has intensified the doctors' struggle, with strikes and declarations of excuse for overtime work beyond the mandatory 150 hours per year, which has caused constraints and the closure of emergency services in hospitals across the country.
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