Carlos Cortes acknowledged that the announcement of the opening of 991 vacant positions for employment is “important and positive data,” but it may not arrive.
The head of the Medical Association on Sunday expressed concern that the 991 open positions in the National Health Service (SNS) for new specialist doctors will remain unfilled and called on the Ministry of Health to create better conditions.
Speaking to Lusa, Carlos Cortés admitted that the announcement made on Saturday by the Executive Directorate of the SNS about the opening of nearly a thousand vacancies for recruitment (shortly after the approval of the medical training classification) is an “important and positive” fact. But he highlighted that it was necessary to go beyond creating vacancies and respond to the needs of the NHS and its professionals.
“Adequate working conditions must be created, as well as training and research projects for development [o SNS]. The Department of Health has not done its job on this and has had no significance in giving the NHS its traction. He pointed out that there is a problem with organizing the entire SNS to attract more professionals.
According to the union president, the Doctors Union “always presents proposals to make the SNS more attractive,” which is why he regretted what he considered “serious negligence” on the part of the Ministry of Health.
“It is a shame that this is the case. This expansion of opening vacancies could have had a different outcome… We have this opportunity, but the Minister of Health’s lack of intervention in this matter has not allowed doctors to look at these vacancies from a career perspective. Everything points to “They won’t be full.”
In response to a question about the impact that the recently reached temporary agreement between the Ministry of Health and the Independent Medical Association regarding salary increases might have on this expanded recruitment process, Carlos Cortes downplayed its importance, warning that wage issues are only one of the problems that must be attracted. Retaining doctors in the NHS.
“It’s not just about doctors’ wages, it’s about the terms of keeping doctors on staff. It’s much more than a simple temporary pay agreement. SNS requires much more than that, and I find it unfortunate that this increase in the number of doctors is the answer to saving Social Networking Service. He stressed that the difficulties are much greater, calling for modern reform that is not based on the principles that have guided recent decades.
Despite the criticism and warnings, the head of the Doctors Syndicate praised the “speed of the process” of opening vacant positions, recalling that in previous years the Ministry of Health took several months to open competitions, and that many young doctors ended up giving up and heading to private hospitals, which harms national security.
“There was an incorrect message, because it did not show interest in young doctors. Now, the interest of the SNS is different and this is unprecedented,” noted Carlos Cortés, also emphasizing the autonomy given to hospitals in this process and the volume of vacancies created.
This Saturday, the Executive Board of the SNS approved the recruitment of 991 newly specialized doctors in various specialties to support the emergency service who have completed their medical training during the special period.
According to the vacancies set out in the information released, the continental region to accommodate the most professionals is Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, with 384 newly vacant specialist doctors, followed by the regions North (282), Center (196), Algarve (65) and Alentejo ( 64).
