The Order of Physicians considers that the new SNS Global Reference Framework for 2026-2028, published in the Official Gazette on April 4, falls "well short of the necessary ambition" for the National Health Service. The organization led by Carlos Cortes argues that the document does not guarantee that patients are treated in a timely manner, with quality and safety, considering that a "wrong strategy" is at stake. The organization states it does not understand the trajectory being followed and maintains that, at a time when the SNS needs to recover capacity and increase access, the response cannot be to lower targets, limit recruitment and accept practically stagnated activity.
As an example, the Order points to family doctor coverage, whose target fell from 98% planned for 2026 to just 85.37% in the new framework, maintaining that percentage until 2028. The target for first hospital consultations within the Guaranteed Maximum Response Times was also set at just 40.24% in 2026, with no significant evolution in the following years. In surgical activity, SNS hospitals performed 19,000 fewer scheduled surgeries between January and May 2026 than in the same period of 2025, a decline of 5.4%, although the new framework forecasts 799,499 surgeries in 2026, practically the same number as in 2025.
The Order also disputes the 1.4% limit on new permanent recruitments, arguing that a Local Health Unit should not be prevented from hiring when professionals are available. The publication of the order happened after the Order of Nurses warned of the existence of approximately three thousand new nurses available for the labor market, while several SNS units continued to report shortages. The document, signed by the Ministers of Finance and Health, took effect from January 1, 2026 and forecasts an increase in total SNS expenditure from the estimated 18,498 million euros in 2026 to 19,714 million in 2028, as well as a gradual reduction of the public health service's debt.
