“Since four years ago, by law of the Assembly of the Republic, the Government is required to open competitions for new specialists within a month,” stated former SIM president Jorge Roque da Cunha to Lusa.
The final classification lists of the Medical Internship evaluation process were ratified on November 12, and on Friday, the “legal deadline of 30 days (…) passed without the legally stipulated competition procedures being launched in order to address the remaining needs,” emphasized SIM in a statement on its online page.
According to Jorge Roque da Cunha, competitions should open “immediately after” the results are released, especially since these evaluation processes occur annually at the same time.
“For every day that passes where specialists are unaware of available vacancies and where they can go, another day is given to private entities, who have been enticing doctors for months or years,” warned Roque da Cunha, criticizing the “chronic lack of planning” that ultimately harms the National Health Service (SNS).
SIM argues for “permanent availability of vacancies” instead of “rigid contest models with limited time windows,” which it believes do not meet the real needs of the SNS or the expectations of doctors.
Through the permanent availability of positions and the full opening of identified needs, the union believes there would be “more opportunities for hiring and retaining doctors,” according to SIM’s page.
