Government puts the squeeze on doctors: either they join the NHS or they can no longer work on their own
The Ministry of Health also wants to prevent doctors who left the NHS in the last three years from being hired for this role. Minister Ana Paula Martins' proposal still needs to be discussed with the unions.
Health Minister Ana Paula Martins speaks to journalists after the Council of Ministers meeting on the Health Emergency and Transformation Plan, held at the Official Residence in São Bento, Lisbon, May 29, 2024. FILIPE AMORIM/LUSAfilipe a
August 22, 2025, 10:43 AM
The Government will close the tap for newly qualified doctors: either they sign contracts, fill the vacancies, and remain linked to the National Health Service (SNS) or they will no longer be able to work as service providers (aka "task workers") in public units.
The plan is announced in the Friday, August 22nd, edition of the newspaper Expresso. Journalist Alexandra Campos explains that the Ministry of Health has defined rules and restrictions to "regulate" the use of service providers—most of whom are currently paid by the hour to fill gaps in the NHS's understaffed emergency room schedules.
According to the preliminary version of the draft decree-law that aims to regulate the provision of services to which Expresso had access, these restrictions “will also mean that doctors who have left the NHS in the last three years will no longer be able to be hired for the task”.
Many emergency services are dependent on hiring service providers who earn up to 100 euros per hour.
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