Doctors want negotiations “as soon as possible” with new minister

Doctors’ unions welcome the choice of Ana Paula Martins as Minister of Health and hope to begin negotiations as quickly as possible.

The new minister was president of the administration of the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Norte, which includes the Santa Maria Hospital and the Pulido Valente Hospital. She is not a doctor, but she has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Heard by RenaissanceJoana Bordalo e Sá, leader of the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam), expects a “serious and competent” minister and calls for a quick return to negotiations with health professionals.

“Fnam congratulates the new Minister of Health and we hope that she will have a good mandate and with good results. We hope that you have the correct vision for the National Health Service, that you prioritize dialogue with all professional classes and doctors, and that it is possible to start a negotiation, as soon as possible, a serious, transparent negotiation, without manipulation and games of behind the scenes, which was the strategy followed by Manuel Pizarro’s previous ministerial team”, states Joana Bordalo e Sá.

The president of Fnam defends “negotiations as soon as possible” and demands “fair wages for doctors” and better “working conditions so that patients can have the best healthcare”.

For its part, the Independent Doctors’ Union (SIM), through president Nuno Rodrigues, promises loyalty in dialogue with minister Ana Paula Martins.

“The Minister of Health can count on us to improve the NHS. More important than the person himself, who is experienced and knows the sector, will be his policies, his attitude towards dialogue and his desire to solve problems”, highlights Nuno Rodrigues.

SIM says that the problems in the sector “have been identified” and will request a meeting with the new Minister of Health, who takes office on April 2, namely to review “the 2023 interim agreement” to complete the review of the salary grid.