PS questioned the Minister of Health about the Local Health Unit (ULS) of Algarve's decision to prevent workers from maintaining their employment ties while attending Medicine at the University of Algarve. At issue are public statements by the president of the administrative board of ULS Algarve, Tiago Botelho, who considered that workers of the institution attending the course was incompatible due to alleged "conflict of interest."
The socialists consider that this interpretation raises doubts about its legal framework, namely regarding the possibility of attending a higher education course being qualified as a conflict of interest situation. The compatibility of the decision with the legal regime for worker-students and with the rights provided to allow reconciliation between professional activity and attending higher education is also questioned.
The situation is considered particularly concerning in the Algarve, a region that faces difficulties in attracting, training, and retaining doctors in the NHS. According to deputy Vítor Guerreiro, workers "instead of being encouraged to qualify and remain in the Algarve, are being confronted with a choice between their employment and their academic path."
PS wants to know if the Government was aware of the decision, what legal norm supports it, and whether it is legally permissible for an administrative board to establish, through an internal position, a general prohibition that does not expressly result from the law. The socialists also requested that the deliberation, guidance, or other act supporting the ULS Algarve's decision be forwarded.
