The National Health Service celebrates, these days, its 47th anniversary. This milestone represents a moment of heartfelt pride for Portugal and for all who use and contribute to the public health system.
The SNS belongs to the Portuguese people, to all who inhabit the national territory. This celebration reinforces the importance of the health system as collective heritage of the nation.
The article proposes a critical reflection on the SNS, analyzing it in three temporal dimensions: the past, the realism of the present and the prospect of what may come to be its future. This approach invites the honest evaluation of challenges and achievements over almost five decades.
