Portuguese doctors earn less than a decade ago

Doctors in Portugal were paid less in real terms for their life-saving work in 2020 compared to 2010, a report published on Monday states.

The report, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Commission on Monday, analyses several health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In some countries, such as Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, the remuneration of general practitioners and specialists decreased in real terms between 2010 and 2020,” the report states.

For Portugal, which has an average of 4.5 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, doctors’ pay dropped from 2010 to 2012, and while it increased since 2012, in 2020, it remained lower than in 2010 when adjusted to inflation.

By comparison, remuneration went up in real terms for doctors in most European countries during the same period, though increases differed according to countries and whether doctors were specialists or generalists, the report added.

“The increase between specialists and generalists has been particularly notable in Hungary. The Hungarian government has substantially increased the remuneration of specialists and generalists over the last decade to reduce the emigration of doctors and shortages” of professionals, says the OECD.

The document also indicates that the number of doctors in EU countries increased from about 1.5 million in 2010 to 1.8 million in 2020, causing the average number of clinicians per thousand inhabitants to increase in that decade from 3.4 to 4.0.

“In 2020, Greece had the highest number of doctors (6.2 per 1,000 inhabitants), followed by Portugal (4.5), but the figure in these two countries is an overestimate as it includes all doctors licensed to practice, including retirees and those who might have emigrated to other countries but kept their licence in the country,” the report explains.

The report also pointed to health sector spending before and during the pandemic, noting no significant policy changes before the pandemic, with an average of 3% of total health spending earmarked for prevention.

But “by 2020, most EU countries have substantially increased their spending on prevention, at least temporarily, to fund pandemic-related testing, screening, surveillance and public information campaigns,” the document adds.

“One of the pandemic lessons is that maximising people’s health and minimising their exposure to risk factors before a crisis is key. Obesity and chronic conditions, such as diabetes and respiratory problems, were important risk factors for severe complications and death from COVID-19,” it also says.

The report also points to wide discrepancies in health spending across Europe, with Switzerland and Germany leading the pack with €4,997 and €4,831, respectively per person. Spending levels in the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden were also well above the EU-weighted average of €3,159 per person.

At the other end of the scale, Romania, Croatia, and Bulgaria spent the least on health among EU countries and below half the EU average.

By 2020, 10.9% of the EU’s GDP was devoted to healthcare.

(Pedro Caetano| Lusa.pt)

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