Nurses Order says government is shedding up to 2,000 nurses when Portugal has backlog of ‘thousands of surgeries’ 

Portugal’s Order of Nurses warns the government is planning to shed 2,000 nurses from its books (by not renewing short-term contracts) when the country is facing a massive backlog of surgeries that have been delayed due to focus on the pandemic. Says the Order’s president Ana Rita Cavaco, 700 nurses in Leiria alone are due to be ‘let go’. “We want to be valued and recognised for our work”, she said, particularly as the need for nurses post-pandemic will be every bit as necessary for all the people whose health issues were put on the back burner.