The Government includes the increase of users with family doctors as a priority for 2027, despite the new SNS Global Reference Framework predicting the stagnation of this coverage by 2028.
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08/10/2026
by
Lusa
O Government assumes the increase of users with family doctors as a priority for 2027, only one month after the new SNS Global Reference Framework predicts the stagnation of this coverage by 2028.
“ Among the strategic priorities for 2027 are the increase in the number of users with assigned family doctor and the promotion of more efficient, sustainable and result-oriented management”, states the report of the state budget proposal for next year delivered to parliament before the deadline laid down by law.
The increase of users with a general and family medical specialist is one of the indicators provided for in the document, integrated into the objective of “improving citizens’ access to health care”, which provides a budget allocation of €16,310 million.
This increase is again assumed by the Ministry of Health, after the new Global Framework of Reference (QGR) of the National Health Service (SNS), published on September 4, predicting the stagnation of coverage of family doctors in 85.3% of the population by 2028.
In the SNS access indicators, the QGR, which establishes strategic and financial guidelines for local health units (ULS), indicated that the percentage of users with assigned family physician would always be 85.37% in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the same as in 2024.
The QGR, proposed by the Executive Board of the SNS and approved by the Ministries of Health and Finance, deserved criticism from the Doctors Order, which lamented the lack of ambition of some indicators foreseen in the document that takes effect on January 1, this year, although it was only published in September.
At the end of September, the Health Minister, Ana Paula Martins, claimed that this is a picture that, by definition, presents minimum indicators, counterpointing the coverage of family doctors of 85.3% predicted in the QGR with the 87% already achieved in August.
For 2027, the government also intends to consolidate a “more open and integrated model”, based on complementarity between the public, private and social sectors, in a “logical in which the SNS maintains its central role, but uses pragmatically the installed capacity outside the public sphere”, the report points out.
According to the document, next year will also be presented the new National Plan for Preparation and Response to Public Health Emergencies, which will establish an integrated model of governance, coordination and operational response to these situations.
This plan aims to strengthen the mechanisms of preparation, interinstitutional coordination, risk reporting, resource readiness and mobilisation exercises, “ensure a rapid, effective and proportionate response to threats of a biological, chemical, radiological or environmental nature”.
The creation of the National Strategic Reserve of Medical Countermeasures is also planned to ensure the timely availability and mobilization of medicines, vaccines, medical devices, personal protective equipment and other critical resources necessary to respond to public health emergencies.
“ This strategic capacity will strengthen national autonomy, increase the resilience of the health system and allow a faster and more coordinated response to future health crises,” states the State Budget report that was adopted today in the Council of Ministers.