The national strike scheduled by the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) will take place between today and Wednesday and will be marked by a demonstration this afternoon at the Ministry of Health.

Speaking to the Lusa news agency, the president of FNAM once again stated that the “sole person responsible” for this day of struggle is the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, who “did nothing to solve the problem of the lack of doctors in the National Health Service (NHS)”.

“FNAM presented the solutions in a timely manner, but Ana Paula Martins preferred not to incorporate them so that we could have more doctors in the NHS and, as such, we are being pushed into this strike”, said Joana Bordalo e Sá.

Among the demands of Fnam, which went on a two-day general strike in July, are the reinstatement of the normal 35-hour workweek and an update of the salary scale, the inclusion of intern doctors in the entry-level category for medical careers and the reinstatement of 25 working days of annual vacation and five additional days of vacation if taken outside the peak season.

The union leader said that “constraints on scheduled activity are expected, with consultations and surgeries postponed” between today and Wednesday.

“In any case, the minimum services will be scrupulously complied with, as usual, and we hope that the demonstration we are going to hold at the Ministry of Health […] will not only involve doctors, but all health professionals”, she stressed.

For Joana Bordalo e Sá, the NHS will only be “capable of responding” with “doctors working in multidisciplinary, multi-professional, motivated teams”.

“We are defending a public, universal, quality NHS that is accessible to the entire population because the population has the right to it. Unfortunately, this Ministry of Health, Ana Paula Martins, has not had the appropriate attitudes to achieve this”, she lamented.

The FNAM strike began today at midnight and ends at midnight on Wednesday, while a strike against overtime work in health centres is taking place at the same time, which began on 16 September and will run until 31 December.

The strike also coincides with a nurses' strike, called by the Portuguese Nurses' Union (SEP).

Speaking to Lusa, the president of SEP, José Carlos Martins, said that there had been no coordination with doctors regarding the strike and that it was a coincidence.

However, neither SEP nor Fnam rules out the possibility that in the future there could be a concerted protest involving all health unions.