In a press conference held today in front of Faro Hospital, André Gomes, leader of the Sindicato dos Médicos da Zona Sul (SMZS-FNAM), announced that the strike encompasses all healthcare professionals working in the National Health Service (SNS) in the Algarve region.
“What we demand from the Government is to take effective measures to retain professionals here. We need more doctors, more nurses, more operational and technical assistants to provide that response, and that is only achieved by valuing careers, salaries, and opening necessary vacancies,” he declared.
André Gomes expressed confusion over the government’s policy in this matter, labeling it “incomprehensible” that the Algarve has not been favored with the opening of necessary vacancies, unlike regions such as Alentejo and areas of Beira Interior and Trás-os-Montes.
“This cannot be resolved with cosmetic attempts, like the government wants with issues of Local Health Units (ULS), Local Health Units (USF), model Cs, PPP (public-private partnerships). No, that’s just dressing up the issues of the users. The users need doctors, nurses, operational assistants, and technical assistants,” he stressed.
According to the union leader, overtime work in the Algarve “is no longer extraordinary and has become day-to-day work,” with professionals overworked and having to exceed the 150-hour limit to ensure users’ safety.
“Who can bear the cost of housing in the Algarve? Therefore, the government must develop appropriate measures for each region of the country, and that is what’s been lacking,” he exemplified, recalling that in the summer the Algarve’s population triples or quadruples and if “the blanket is already too short” in winter, it becomes even shorter in this season.
Meanwhile, Alda Pereira from the Sindicato dos Enfermeiros Portugueses (SEP) stated that estimates in the Algarve indicate a shortage of around 1,500 nurses, acknowledging that “chaos” has settled in the Algarve’s healthcare.
“When about a hundred nurses at this ULS have requested to be excused from responsibility in the past weeks, they are already saying that the Algarve is completely exhausted, that the nurses and other professionals are utterly worn out,” she argued.
According to the union representative, some candidates do come forward for the nursing job openings, but then they cannot afford the cost of living, particularly housing, to stay in the region.
“I come to live in the Algarve, work for ULS Algarve, how much does a house cost, how much does a room cost, and how much does a nurse earn? So the problem is not the number of job openings but the [lack of] conditions,” she justified.
Rosa Franco from the Sindicato dos Trabalhadores em Funções Públicas do Sul e das Regiões Autónomas also recognizes that staff shortages are one of the main issues facing these services’ professionals, alongside the worsening working conditions, as many assistants frequently work 16 hours a day.
“Our main problems are exactly the problems of doctors and nurses, the lack of workers,” she said, highlighting that the majority of job openings for healthcare auxiliary technicians remain unfilled.
When asked why, Rosa Franco replied that people are willing to work for the ULS, but “after the second or third shift they quit” due to anxiety and workload accumulation.
“The amount of work is so much that my fellow assistants simply give up,” she illustrated.
The strike, scheduled from 00:00 to 24:00 on August 7, was called by the three unions.
