Ministry of Health opens 322 vacancies to hire doctors in needy areas

Government says that opening more than 300 vacancies will enable “greater equity in access to medical health care, minimizing regional asymmetries that may persist, especially in more peripheral areas or areas with greater demographic pressure”

The Ministry of Health announced the opening of 322 vacancies with incentives to establish more doctors in areas considered to be in need, representing an increase of 47 vacancies compared to last year.

According to a Government order published in Diário da República, the measure aims to “reduce the asymmetries that exist in different regions, such as peripheral areas and areas with greater demographic pressure, which demonstrate greater difficulty in attracting new professionals”.

“This specific measure, which allows incentives to be given to those who settle in needy areas, contributes to guaranteeing the constitutionally enshrined right to health protection, regardless of the social, economic condition and place of residence of each citizen”, he maintains.

The authority opened 18 vacancies for the local health unit (ULS) of Arco Ribeirinho and the Tagus Estuary, 17 vacancies for the ULS of Leiria and Oeste and 16 vacancies for the ULS of Arrábida, Lezíria, Seixal, Castelo Branco, from Loures-Odivelas, Baixo Alentejo, Litoral Alentejano and Médio Tejo.

In the ULS of Cova da Beira, Algarve and Alto Alentejo, 15 vacancies were opened, in the ULS of Guarda 11, in the ULS of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, in Viseu Dão-Lafões, in Central Alentejo and in the Northeast 10, eight in the ULS of Amadora/Sintra and São José, six in the ULS of Santa Maria, five in the ULS of Western Lisbon and one ULS in Baixo Mondego.

According to the Government, the opening of more than 300 vacancies will enable “greater equity in access to medical health care, minimizing regional asymmetries that may persist, especially in more peripheral areas or areas with greater demographic pressure”.

Considering continuing the policy of hiring, retaining and valuing human resources of the National Health Service (SNS), the Government recalls that this planning work results “from a broader reform” of the ULS organization.

“This model also strengthens the work with different local partners, namely the participation of municipalities in the planning, organization and management of the functioning of the health response to the population of a given geographic area, enhancing proximity and network management”, he highlights.

According to the authority, the definition of areas considered to be in need is based on the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) ‘per capita’, the number of medical workers depending on the population density covered by the health service or establishment and its comparison with other establishments in the same group, performance levels and, among others, geographic distance.