The Minister of Health said on Friday that the government will study how far it can go in negotiations with doctors, but stressed that the country is not in normal conditions, in reference to the current political crisis.
“We have to evaluate the conditions under which each of the government’s political choices can be made, because if it is true that the government is in power, it is no less true that we are not in normal conditions,” Manuel Pizarro said. On the sidelines of the opening of the 32nd Congress of the Dental Association, held in Matosinhos, in the Porto region.
For this reason, he stressed, negotiating with doctors requires “very careful consideration” from the point of view not only of the legal form, but also of the political legitimacy of every decision taken.
He added: “We will study how far we can go in this regard.”
The Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) has announced that it will continue the strike against overtime in primary health care and calls for the resumption of negotiations with the Ministry of Health. The National Union of Doctors (Fnam) has also called for the immediate resumption of negotiations with the Ministry of Health.
Pizarro said he was “well informed” of the unions’ intentions, and admitted that he did not see on the part of the union that decided to continue the strike next week “any desire to approach the positions of the Ministry of Health” and to cancel the strike in light of the current “very special circumstances.”
The last meeting between the Ministry of Health and the medical unions was scheduled to take place last Wednesday, but it was canceled following the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
That day, the Minister of Health announced before Parliament that negotiations with the medical unions were continuing, indicating that he had not yet lost hope in reaching an agreement with the doctors.
Portugal will hold early legislative elections on March 10, 2024, the date of which was set by the President of the Republic, following the resignation of the Prime Minister on Tuesday.
SNS is the “safe haven” for the Portuguese
In response to a question about the situation of the National Health Service, the minister said that he had never hidden that the National Health Service was facing difficulties, but pointed out that it remained a “safe haven” for the Portuguese.
“The National Health Service faces difficulties that I have never hidden and never underestimated, but today the National Health Service continues, as always, to be the safe haven for the Portuguese,” Manuel Pizarro declared.
The government official reiterated his recognition of the problems and limitations existing in the national security network, and considered that the work of the network of institutions has made it possible to overcome these difficulties to this day. He stressed, “We will always continue working to ensure that the social networking system is the solution to citizens’ needs.”
When asked about possible limitations in emergency obstetrics and gynecology services at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, in Porto, Pizarro highlighted that this hospital unit has a maternity service and a maternity ward “of very high technical excellence.”
“It is a very safe place for people to go to have their children,” he concluded.
The clinical director of the University Hospital Center of São João, Roberto Roncon, revealed on Tuesday, in an interview with Lusa, that with regard to the specialization of obstetrics and gynecology, and more specifically in response to pregnant women, it may become necessary to resort to neighboring hospitals.
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