Most doctors have already worked 150 hours of overtime in emergencies

The National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) said this Friday that the overwhelming majority of doctors working in emergencies have already reached the mandatory 150 hours of overtime, demanding “quick responses”, because “there is little left until summer” and emergencies remain chaotic .

“We need quick responses for the National Health Service, on top of that, there’s only a short time until the summer, we know that emergencies remain chaotic, that there’s a shortage of family doctors. Therefore, health really cannot wait”, the president of Fnam told journalists, on the sidelines of the first negotiating meeting with the new ministerial team for Health, led by minister Ana Paula Martins.

Asked by Lusa whether there are already doctors submitting minutes of refusal in relation to overtime work, Joana Bordalo e Sá stated that some have already reached the federation.

“There aren’t many yet, but there are doctors who are effectively fulfilling their duty of not working more than 150 overtime hours”, he said, highlighting that “April and May are very decisive months”.

According to Joana Bordalo e Sá, the excuses of responsibility that have reached the federation on a daily basis are due to working conditions in day-to-day practice.

“Some doctors are subject to very, very difficult working conditions, not only because they have small teams, not only because they understand that they do not have all the specialties needed in their workplace, for example, in emergencies to be able to work, and so they deliver these excuses of responsibility”, he explained.

The union leader warned that if there are no concrete measures to secure doctors in the National Health Service, the constraints that were observed last year with closed emergency services will happen again in the summer.

“We know that we have few doctors in the National Health Service and we know that summer is just around the corner. We also know that the overwhelming majority of emergency doctors have already reached the maximum 150 hours of overtime that they are obliged to work”, he explained.

Therefore, he concluded, “if nothing is done and if there is no sign that we will effectively be able to sign a negotiating protocol and have a serious, competent negotiation, without behind-the-scenes games and with clarity, with loyalty, on both sides, probably We’re going to have a very, very difficult summer.”

Joana Bordalo e Sá said that the National Federation of Doctors has the solutions to prevent this from happening, having delivered these proposals at the meeting at the Ministry of Health that lasted around 90 minutes.

The FNAM took to the negotiating table 10 points that it considers essential to “resolve the urgency of the crisis in the SNS”, in order to hire doctors and guarantee the provision of health care, including the replacement of the normal weekly working period. 35 hours and updating the salary grid.

The reinstatement of medical internship as a category for entry into the medical career and the implementation of progression in remunerative positions in each category and streamlining of competitions are other Fnam proposals.