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The nurses and doctors unions are unanimous: awarding performance bonuses to SNS health professionals who fought the pandemic in the first phase will create inequalities and reduce the number of covered. The award should have been regulated until August 24, but only last Saturday was it approved by the Council of Ministers. Therefore, it will be rewarded in a phase of the pandemic with many more positive cases than in March and professionals involved and there is no indication that these will be awarded.
The award was unanimously approved by the Assembly of the Republic when the Supplementary Budget was discussed. It was defined that it would be attributed to all SNS professionals who, during the state of emergency on March 18, and its renewals, would carry out acts directly related to covid-19. It consists of the allocation of 50% of the employee’s basic monthly salary, paid once, of one day of vacation for each period of 48 overtime hours performed in that period and one day of vacation for each period of 80 hours of normal work. The Government had 30 days to make the regulation.
On the website, the Portuguese Union of Nurses summarized last week’s meeting with the Secretary of State and the Deputy for Health: “what is being discussed is ‘gratifying performance’ during the first period in which the state was in force emergency – March 19 to May 2 (45 days) and not taking measures to mitigate the discontent of professionals ”. “Only those who have been working for 45 days at least 30 days working directly with patients infected or suspected of covid-19 in wards, intensive care and areas dedicated to testing covid-19, public health professionals will receive the award and INEM involved in the transport of covid ”, says Guadalupe Simões.
“Attributing the award only to professionals who have been in areas dedicated to covid-19 means very few people. One of the criteria is to award the award to professionals who worked in first and second line institutions during this state of emergency. The patients have been extended to all the hospitals ”, he highlights, adding that the audience“ did not accept proposals ”. “Regarding the possibility of reaching more people, they were very emphatic. It will not cover the 170 thousand health professionals, ”he laments, noting that all were involved in the SNS response.
Lúcia Leite, president of the Portuguese Association of Nurses, also speaks of “limiting criteria” that leave out nurses who worked, for example, with pregnant women in gynecology awaiting tests to be suspected cases. There is also the question of “how overtime will be counted to assign vacation days”, recalling that there are institutions that put this work “on the stock market”.
It is also the lag in the delivery of the award that worries him. “The award was approved during the first wave. Today the situation is more serious, the number of nurses in the covid-19 and intermediate areas is much higher. The award is out of time and does not cover all professionals. Giving the prize only to the first slot is a poisoned gift and the way you handle it, the more poisoned it will be ”, Lúcia Leite considers.
“It will create instability”
For Noel Carrilho, president of the National Federation of Physicians, “compensation should be for all” professionals. “The SNS is one and they all worked with the objective of responding to the pandemic, leading some to work in the rear so that others could be on the front line.” And he regrets that “for the limitation of rights such as vacations, assistance to children, the performance of overtime, the universe is much broader than for the granting of compensation.”
“Only after each 80-hour period is a vacation day assigned. Many doctors have worked in areas of covid-19 and can be 70 hours. They will not receive. It will be a marginal number to receive the prizes of the SNS universe “, says the doctor, saying that they want to” negotiate a pain supplement. ” “But for the government it is not the moment, since it is not for much.” In the State Budgets for 2021, the Government presented a proposal to create a risk subsidy for SNS professionals on the front line to combat the pandemic for a maximum amount of 219 euros.
Jorge Roque da Cunha, from the Union of Independent Doctors, says that “as important as those who were on the front line, they are those who guarantee the care of their patients.” “We regret that this value [do prémio] be taxed and have the government advertise with the premium instead of worrying more about fixing doctors on the NHS. It will create instability and increase demotivation. We believe that it is necessary to invest in medical careers, nurses, diagnostic technicians to generate discrimination similar to that created for judges ”, he says.
The PUBLIC questioned the Ministry of Health about the universe of professionals covered by the award, when it will be paid and is considering creating a similar award to be attributed to the professionals involved in this second wave. “The diploma was approved at a meeting of the Council of Ministers and follows the proper channels of the legislative process,” the ministry said, declining to comment further.
