The new remuneration regime for overtime work reduces to 75% the amount paid to doctors who work overtime in daytime and hospital emergencies, but maintains the amounts for the most needed services and periods.
This is one of the amendments provided for in the decree-law that the Lusa agency had access to this Thursday and which was approved by the Council of Ministers on February 16 to be in force until the end of July, extending the measure created in July 2022 to stabilize medical teams in the emergencies of the National Health Service (SNS).
The Ministry of Health decided to extend this transitional regime, since negotiations are taking place with the unions on “structural solutions that are recognized as essential and indispensable for solving the problem” of lack of specialists, says the diploma.
“Despite the increase in the number of specialist doctors in the various services and health establishments integrated into the SNS, which has been seen since 2015, such reinforcement has not allowed, until now, much as a result of the characteristics of the current medical demography, to ensure the satisfaction of all needs, especially within the scope of emergency services”, recognizes the decree-law.
In July 2022, this regime stipulated the payment to doctors of 50 euros per hour from the 51st hour until the 100th hour of overtime work, 60 euros from the 101st hour until the 150th hour and 70 euros from the 150th hour 151 additional work.
According to the diploma now approved, the hourly rate is maintained for additional work carried out at night, on weekends or on holidays to ensure the functioning of the external emergency service.
In addition, the amount does not change for overtime worked in emergency rooms located more than 60 kilometers from Lisbon, Porto or Coimbra, as well as in metropolitan emergencies, regardless of the day or time.
In addition to these situations, for daytime and internal emergencies, the “hourly rate due for overtime work corresponds to 75% of the hourly rate” already provided for in the previous regime.
The diploma also stipulates that the signing of contracts for the acquisition of services with medical personnel “is only admissible in cases where the service cannot be proven to be provided by doctors from the respective staff map, with those contracts being subject to a maximum hourly rate corresponding to the average hourly rate paid, by entity, as overtime work, in 2019”.
“The costs associated with overtime work and the purchase of medical services cannot exceed, in each health service or establishment, the amounts paid for overtime work and the provision of medical services in 2019, corrected for charges resulting from updates annual salaries”, states the diploma.
The Ministry of Health adds that this diploma “guarantees that there is no remuneration advantage for service providers in relation to doctors linked to the SNS” and that it allows strengthening the network operation of the various units, also involving the executive management of the SNS.