With the Portuguese State health service unravelling – the brunt of jokes on satirical weekly programme Isto é Gozar com quem Trabalha – the ministry of health has agreed to call unions representing doctors to a meeting on Thursday afternoon, a source for the ministry has confirmed today. According to the souce, SIM – the Independent Doctors’ Union – and FNAM – the National Doctors’ Federation – are being “summoned to resume negotiations, at a time when the SNS national health service is facing a crisis in emergency services” due to the refusal by more than 2,000 doctors to work more than the statutory annual amount of 150 hours of overtime until government paymasters improve their working conditions/ career structures.
