The government has assured today that it “will not give up on finding consensus” with healthcare professionals, after signing a negotiation agreement with FNAM, the National Federation of Doctors that has been so frustrated by lack of progress this far.
On Friday, Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, and Secretary of State for Public Administration, Marisa Garrido, signed a negotiation protocol with FNAM, “within the scope of Collective Labour Agreements and which includes various matters relating to medical careers.
“The positive way in which the meeting, scheduled last month, took place, in which the government sat down with one of the unions representing doctors, is noteworthy, contributing to the process of building a stronger National Health Service [SNS],” said a statement from the health ministry
“The government is not giving up on finding consensus on matters that matter to healthcare professionals,” reads the statement, in which the relevant authorities emphasised that this “represents another step towards prioritising the negotiating table as a space where solutions that contribute to the Healthcare Professionals Motivation Plan can be found.”
The Executive also guaranteed that it “will continue to work with cordiality, good faith and responsibility towards medical professionals and for the benefit of the national health service”.
In subsequent statements to Lusa, Joana Bordalo e Sá, president of FNAM’s executive committee, welcomed the signing of the protocol, but said she hoped the government will fulfill what has been signed.
FNAM will be “demanding and firm,” expecting “seriousness and transparency”, she stressed.
“Providing better conditions for doctors, whether in pre-hospital care, hospitals, emergencies, or family medicine, means allowing more professionals to be in the SNS national health system, which has reached its current state due to the government’s fault.”
In recalling the constraints experienced in the SNS – the three people who died in recent days waiting for help, the dozens of hours spent waiting in hospital emergency rooms, pregnant women without access to local care, and the 1.5 million people without family doctors – Joana Bordalo e Sá said that the health ministry was essentially “forced” to sign the protocol.
In addition to salaries, the document covers topics such as career evaluation and progression, vacations, full-time dedication, review of the weekly work schedule, and training within the scope of medical internships, she said.
“The situation and retention of doctors in the SNS will depend on the seriousness and stance” that the minister, and the government have, warned Bordalo e Sá.
FNAM has already warned that Friday’s meeting would be taking place in a context of “strong pressure” on the SNS and “growing protests from doctors regarding the deterioration of working conditions,” lack of structural solutions, and difficulty in retaining professionals.
Source: LUSA
