More than 400 vacancies remained unfilled in the competition to choose specialties, reported yesterday by the Independent Doctors' Union (SIM), a result that it considered to be a “hecatomb” for the National Health Service.
“The choices for specialties have ended and, of the 2.330 candidates, there were 501 who decided not to choose any vacancy, leaving 419 vacancies”, said SIM in a statement.
According to the union led by Roque da Cunha, in 2021 51 vacancies for the medical internship remained unfilled, a number that increased to 161 in 2022.
“The predictable and announced catastrophe happened”, highlighted SIM, one of the two unions involved in negotiations with the Government to enhance the careers and salary scales of doctors that have been going on for several months, with dozens of meetings ending without agreement.
According to data released by SIM, vacancies not chosen by new doctors represent 18,2% of the total number of places put up for competition and, in some specialties, reach “numbers never seen before”.
The union pointed to the examples of general and family medicine (family doctors), internal medicine, public health and clinical pathology and added that, in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, 178 vacancies remained unfilled.
“Here we see the attractiveness of working in the National Health Service, at a time when all medical human resources should be used”, lamented the union structure.
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