Ministry will sign negotiating protocol with doctors in May, says union | Health

The negotiation process between the Ministry of Health and doctors will begin next month, said the general secretary of the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM), Nuno Rodrigues, at the end of the first meeting with minister Ana Paula Martins. The National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) was the second union to be received. Upon leaving, Joana Bordalo e Sá announced that the protocol will be signed by May 27th.

Throughout the day, the Minister of Health will meet with the unions representing nurses and ends the agenda with a hearing of the pharmacists’ union.

“Negotiation only begins with a formality, which is the negotiation protocol. It was decided that this negotiating protocol will be signed next month and with this deadline we wanted it to be shorter”, said the secretary general of SIM, upon leaving the meeting. As he had already mentioned in an interview with PÚBLICO, the SIM leader stated that the union’s intention is that the negotiation process will not be as long as the previous one.

“We requested that this protocol be completed by the end of the year”, which should “be transparent and bring peace of mind to doctors so that they know what they can count on in the coming years”. The date for the next meeting “has not yet been formally decided, but it will certainly be in May”, explained Nuno Rodrigues in statements on television.

The claim booklet has been delivered and part of this is the recovery of the purchasing power lost by doctors since 2015. SIM signed an interim agreement with the previous Government that guaranteed a 15% salary increase. Now, said Nuno Rodrigues, it is necessary to negotiate the remainder to reach the 30% salary increase demanded by doctors.

Asked about the openness shown by the Ministry of Health regarding this intention, the secretary general of SIM stated that the minister said that “they will evaluate the financial capacity of the State”. “We had already advocated that it be phased in time. The Minister of Health showed [na reunião] a person of dialogue and willingness to solve problems. And if this is one of the problems, naturally it will have to be resolved.”

In addition to the statement of demands, SIM also delivered “proposals to increase the accessibility of Portuguese people to healthcare, both in primary healthcare and in hospitals”. In an interview with PÚBLICO, Nuno Rodrigues highlighted that the SNS’s response capacity is not exhausted and that, for example, in primary health care portfolios of additional services can be contracted to increase consultations.

“We also made proposals so that the private and social sector can also help the SNS”, said Nuno Rodrigues, at the end of the meeting with the government team.

Risk of problems in summer

Upon leaving the meeting, the president of Fnam also confirmed the commitment made by the Ministry of Health. “We managed to present all our proposals and we will see what negotiating protocol we can sign in a month’s time”, said Joana Bordalo e Sá, noting that “this The deadline is May 27th.”

Regarding the content, Fnam said that it will be necessary to wait for the document that the Ministry of Health will prepare to find out what was possible to include in the negotiating protocol. Joana Bordalo e Sá highlighted that it is not just the salary scale that needs to be resolved, to “compensate doctors for the loss of purchasing power in the last decade”.

“We have the issue of working conditions: returning at 35 hours, the issue of intern doctors who are a third of our workforce and have to return to being part of their career. This has no budgetary impact whatsoever”, explained Joana Bordalo e Sá, stating that Fnam “will never be in a position to accept the loss of rights”.

Before the meeting, Fnam had released the list of ten points “fundamental to resolving the urgency of the crisis in the SNS”. Among the demands are the restoration of 35 hours per week and the updating of the salary scale. Doctors also want the replacement of the 12 hours dedicated to emergency care and the “possibility of retirement or early retirement for doctors with 36 years of service or at 62 years of age without penalties”.

The list also includes a proposal to reduce the list of users per family doctor and the “revocation” of several diplomas, including full dedication and local health units.

Asked about possible problems in ensuring doctors’ rosters during the summer, Joana Bordalo e Sá warned that, “if nothing is done, this reality will certainly happen”.

“We know that the overwhelming majority of emergency doctors have already reached the maximum 150 hours of overtime that they are obliged to work. If there is no sign that we will actually be able to form a negotiating protocol and have serious negotiations, we will probably have a very difficult summer”, he warned.