An additional 45,600 people in the Algarve will be attributed a family doctor after 24 new GPs were hired by the regional health authority ARS. The doctors will start working at the region’s health centres in October.
Thirty-three positions were available, meaning 72% of the vacancies were filled.
“It would be much better to have all 33 positions filled. But considering that in recent tenders we had 50% of positions taken and now we had over 70%, the results are good,” Paulo Morgado, boss of regional health authority ARS Algarve, told Sulinformação website.
Thirteen GPs will be based at the health centres in Lagoa, Lagos and Portimão, while the other 11 will work in Albufeira, Faro and Loulé.
The openings for Aljezur, Silves, Vila do Bispo and Tavira remain without interested candidates.
Ten of the 11 interns who were completing their training in the Algarve were hired, with the other 14 moving to the Algarve from other parts of the country.
According to Morgado, around 80% of the Algarve’s population now has access to a family doctor.
As the Resident reported (click here), Portugal’s finance ministry authorised the hiring of 290 GPs and family doctors in September to work at understaffed public health services.
The goal was to hire doctors “as quickly as possible” for services where staff shortages are most significant.
