Portugal has been navigating a wave of medical emergencies in obstetrics as the health system grapples with a clear shortage of physicians. Early hospital closures around Lisbon underscored a wider pattern that alarms the public after a newborn waited too long for treatment in the Caldas da Rainha emergency room, about 100 kilometers north of the capital. With prosecutors reviewing the case and unions alongside opposition parties pressing the government, the issue became a nationwide concern demanding practical, immediate steps to restore reliability in urgent care.
Jorge Roque da Cunha, head of the Independent Physicians Association (SIM), identified the root cause as insufficient economic and professional incentives for young doctors to stay in Portugal. He argued that the National Health Service is losing more specialists than it attracts, a trend that heightens waits and stress in emergency departments. He noted that many doctors over fifty remain active but that there is no clear plan to ensure their continued participation in urgent care when it is most needed.
Contract for 1,600 professionals
The executive branch kept a busy schedule this week, meeting with unions to improve working conditions and attract more doctors to service to prevent gaps in emergencies during the busy summer period when many professionals take leave. Health Minister Marta Fear outlined an emergency action plan that includes raising overtime pay, which last year exceeded eight million, and aligning compensation with doctors outside the SNS who cover essential services during staff shortages. The proposed rate reaches about 90 euros per hour for those not permanently integrated into the SNS.
The plan also features the creation of a commission to coordinate and centralize hospital resources for rapid responses to changing needs. In addition to recruiting 1,600 new doctors across 50 maternity units and obstetrics departments, the government is emphasizing swift redeployment and better resource management. At present, unions remain skeptical of the proposal. SIM leadership called for a more objective approach, noting that some doctors are already in training and expected to join the SNS soon, making long-range planning essential to the system’s sustainability.
Lack of family doctors
Fear acknowledged the government’s commitment to empowering medical teams and recognized the real challenge of filling vacancies. He stressed that every effort would be made to recruit specialists to work within the SNS, but cautioned that targets may not align with every desired outcome due to difficult working conditions in the healthcare sector. The finance minister described the problem as structural rather than purely financial, indicating a shortage of personnel rather than a lack of funds.
Beyond pressures in gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics, broader difficulties appear in primary care, where a notable gap persists in family medicine. Ministry data show that more than one million Portuguese residents do not have an assigned primary care physician, roughly one in ten people. The government has signaled plans to recruit hundreds of family doctors, but unions argue that the number remains far from sufficient. They contend that essential recruitment depends on improved salaries and better working conditions to close the substantial shortfall and stabilize patient access across the country. Attribution: Ministério da Saúde