The new strategic plan for the NHS (National Health Service) has significantly reduced the target for patients with a family doctor, dropping from the previous 98% to just 85.37%. This reduction represents a step backwards from the previously established goals for primary healthcare coverage.
Regarding surgical activity, the plan maintains practically the same number of surgeries until 2028, which means a stagnation in the health system's capacity to respond in this area. This lack of growth concerns specialists.
The Medical Association has already expressed its position on this strategy, considering that the plan "falls far short" of what is actually needed for the NHS. The professional organization of doctors understands that the established targets do not meet the real needs of the population.
The document comes at a time when the NHS faces growing challenges in access and coverage, and the reduction in ambitions regarding family doctors and the stagnant maintenance of surgical activity contrast with the growing needs of Portuguese patients.
