The Portuguese National Health Service needs more than 600 anesthesiologists to address the shortage that is worsening the crisis in the public health system. The lack of these specialists is making it difficult to perform surgeries and urgent procedures across the country.
The situation is particularly serious because there are trained specialist doctors who could join the SNS, but they choose not to accept positions in the public sector. The lack of hiring and working conditions in the public sector are driving these professionals to the private sector or to emigration.
This exodus of anesthesiologists to other areas or countries is creating a vicious cycle that continuously worsens the SNS's ability to meet the population's needs. Patients face increasingly long waiting times and difficulties in accessing surgical care.
