Health ministry admits it “may hire foreign doctors” to make up systemic shortfalls

Portugal’s health ministry has admitted that the possibility of hiring foreign doctors is most definitely on the table, depending on results of internal hiring campaigns. This follows concerns registered in areas, namely the intermunicipal community of Lezíria do Tejo – which found that none of the 26 vacancies put out to tender for the hiring of family doctors in the region had been filled. A statement to Lusa by the ministry has confirmed that “the eventual hiring of doctors abroad may be considered in a supplementary and transitory way, depending on the evaluation that will be done of results of recruitment campaigns underway by the different institutions” of the SNS health service.