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Study, to which SIC had access, outlines a profile of workers in the National Health Service between 2010 and 2023. Teams are aging consistently, which proves to be “quite worrying for the sustainability of the NHS in the medium term”.
The study “SNS professionals – Portrait and Evolution” looks at the period between 2010 and 2023 to outline a profile of the team that provides services in the public sector. It was completed in January, at Competence Center for Public Administration Planning, Policies and Foresighta State body that produces reports to support government decisions, but has not yet been released publicly.
From what SIC found, the document has already been sent to the Secretary of State for Health, but the Ministry guarantees that it has not yet reached the cabinet in its final version.
The Ministry of Health’s response to SIC:
“The work resulting from order no. 7985/2023, of August 3, is ongoing, involving the Public Administration Planning, Policy and Foresight Competence Center (PlanAPP) and the Central Administration of the Health System, IP (ACSS, IP), the Executive Directorate of the National Health Service, IP (DE-SNS, IP) and SPMS – Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, EPE (SPMS, EPE), within the scope of improving planning and strategic management of human resources in the health sector, namely the National Health Service (SNS). The final version of the study in question has not yet been delivered to the Ministry of Health.”
Regarding the conclusions, it is highlighted that “to eliminate territorial inequalities in the density of human resources in the SNS, harmonizing the Regional Health Administrations (ARS), an additional 29,443 professionals would be needed in the SNS (all professional groups). More than half are needed in hospitals. Still, on average, the total number of professionals assigned to the NHS grew by 1.7% per year – with a more pronounced increase during the pandemic years, a trend that has continued since 2021, but at a more moderate pace .
Furthermore, a profile of the SNS professional is outlined: “it is that of a woman, nurse, with Portuguese nationality, who works in hospital care, is assigned to the ARS do Norte and is aged between 35 and 44 years old”.
A scenario that raises challenges, highlighted by the study authors, which also remind us of the progressive aging of professionals.
“If the increase in the rate of feminization raises additional questions regarding policies for reconciling professional life with family life, the aging of the workforce appears to be an even greater challenge, being quite worrying for the sustainability of the NHS in the medium term. deadline”, they state.
This is because, in 2010, workers over 45 years old made up around 42% of the total. In June 2023, they became more than half of all professionals.