ULS Algarve strengthens healthcare with 46 new nurses

The Algarve Local Health Unit (ULS) welcomed 46 new nurses today, September 10th, who will begin working in the region's public hospitals. This reinforcement represents a concrete response to the nursing staffing needs, especially in critical areas such as emergency care, surgery, and maternal health.

During the reception session, Tiago Botelho, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ULS Algarve, welcomed the healthcare professionals and emphasized that "working in the NHS is not just a job, it is much more than that: it is belonging to and caring for a society."

These hires are the result of a recruitment initiative launched a few months ago. However, they are not sufficient to meet all needs, and ULS Algarve remains open to hiring more professionals. "If people are available to work with us, we are open to hiring," he emphasized.

"We have other expressions of interest from professionals still in this pool, who may eventually sign contracts. Before these professionals joined, others had already been hired, albeit in smaller numbers," he explained.

This opinion is shared by nursing director José Vieira dos Santos. "We live in a region of the country with a shortage of nurses. Hiring this number of nurses is crucial to strengthen our teams and meet some of our current needs," he stated.

ULS Algarve has been adopting an active policy of strengthening human resources, with the continuous opening of recruitment pools and competitive procedures, available on the institution's official website. The goal is to mitigate persistent shortages, especially in the most stressed areas of the regional healthcare system.

During the session, nursing director José Vieira dos Santos reminded the new nurses that "it's not a service that defines your value, but rather how you care for people." In a message focused on the nurses' relationship with patients, José Vieira dos Santos reminded his new colleagues to "care with knowledge, but also with heart; care with technique, but also with humanity, because at the end of the day, what patients will remember is not just the treatment they received, but also the words and gestures that gave them confidence."

The reception for the new nurses, which took place in the auditorium of Faro Hospital, was attended by executive director José Gonçalves Júnior, deputy director of nursing Paula Franco and director of the Human Capital Service Sílvia Cabrita.