Government prepares new rules to limit work to the task of doctors in the NHS: either sign a contract with the NHS or may not provide services in public units. Diploma to the Council of Ministers as early as September.
The government is preparing to impose new restrictions on doctors’ work on the National Health Service (NHS) task, to reduce the dependence on this regime which in recent years has reached record values.
The proposal of decree-law, according to the preliminary version and subject to union negotiation, provides, of the two, one: Either sign a contract with the NHS or, if they choose to refuse a contract and do not apply for public vacancies, they are prevented from exercising as service providers in public units.
The measure also covers doctors that, in the last three years, have voluntarily terminated, request early retirement or refused to perform supplementary work beyond the legal limit.
The objective is to “discipline” the use of tasks, whose hiring has been essential to ensure emergenciesbut it represents an increasing expense. By 2024, the state spent more than 213 million euros in this regime, more 53 million than in 2022. Between January and May this year only the invoice has already risen 17 MORE MILLION compared to the same period.
The diploma also introduces maximum limits to compensation of the providers, which can be paid by urgent scale rather than time. The intention is to clearly differentiate the values between specialists and non -expert doctors, making work to the task Less attractive.
But There are exceptions, provided for critical periodssuch as summer vacation, Christmas or New Year’s Eve, when hospitals compete for the same professionals, offering over 100 euros per hour.
Hospital administrations recognize the strong dependence of these doctors. In Alto Alentejo, for example, obstetrics are exclusively ensured by tasks and, at general emergency, the care of non -urgent patients depends entirely on this regime.
For guardianship, the new rules will force many clinicals to be linked to the NHS or, alternatively, to opt for the private sector, which will hardly be able to absorb so many professionals.
The diploma should be taken to the Council of Ministers in September. Great contestation of the medical community is expected.
