“It’s the latest controversy between the government and SNS health professionals – this time with those who work in hospital administrations”, writes Expresso today.
“Managers have been notified to return the 5% salary replacement they have been receiving since 2020, when the cut applied to them during Portugal’s financial intervention programme was cancelled. The instruction was sent this week by ACSS, the Central Administration of the Health System, and has ‘shaken’ the entire sector, since it was the ACSS itself that gave the opposite guidance four years ago, returning the 5% reduction.
The restitution of amounts received since then applies to current administrators, but also to those who held these positions at the time (and have now left the service/ retired). Among those targeted are managers, doctors, nurses and other professionals whose salaries are indexed to the boards of directors.
“In some cases it’s a few thousand euros that the ACSS is asking to be returned. Indignation is enormous, people find this absolutely incomprehensible,” says Xavier Barreto, president of the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators, who admits his members are considering challenging the decision through the courts.
