When writing the title of this article, it sounded catastrophic to me. Is the SNS so bad that it needs to be saved? I have the feeling that it is at a critical moment, in which it can still strengthen and return to the strength we recognized it, or wither more and more, and remain as the last stronghold of the poor and the very seriously ill, where insurance has run out .
I have been reading the news of the Ministry of Health’s negotiating rounds with the unions. Strange not to mention the representation of the SNS Executive Committee in these conversations. This management body was supposed to have the necessary independence from political power, with the prerogative to introduce the necessary changes at all levels, which would guarantee the efficiency of the means, with the best quality of care. Negotiations are still stagnant in the discussion of emergency overtime, which means that the preamble has not yet come out.
A doctors’ strike is already announced, and our representatives appear in the news with a tired look. Without hope and full of empty discussions, in which the fundamental issues are not addressed, they will end up giving up. Many physicians will feel the same hopelessness over this missed opportunity. As they have an alternative, they will also leave the SNS.
A good negotiator does not allow himself to be carried away by redneck cleverness, which only postpones the problem without resolving it. He is cold and calculating, not losing sight of the main objective: saving the SNS. He recognizes that the doctors’ claims cannot continue to be forgotten, because they are fair and have been postponed for over 12 years. You must be aware that negotiations cannot be extended over time, because in each passing month the SNS loses many of its best doctors. He knows that it is fundamental to guarantee available and dedicated doctors in public and private hospitals, pursuing the goal of separating careers in the long run.
It is no longer a surprise to anyone that the SNS has lost immense hours of medical work by its most capable elements. They are lacking in all sectors, although we continue to look too much at the Emergency Service, when it only reflects upstream (Primary Care) and downstream (Inpatient) failure. It is necessary to guarantee the activity of the services, from consultation, to diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, to clinical discussion among peers, to clinical trials and to provide incentives for teaching and research.
Having all of this, without the doctor running out of time in repeated urgent calls, is the best way to keep him on the SNS. A motivated and happy doctor treats his patient better and, as the economic objective is important, it ceases to be decisive. The reformulation of the medical career, making it reliable and predictable, with the attribution of degrees based on acquired skills, is essential for the harmonious management of services. Let’s hope that the negotiator with the doctors reverses course. If not, everyone is missing out.
The author writes according to the new spelling agreement