Beginning by lamenting that the unions have not been heard so far about the proposals presented in the State Budget for 2022, Noel Carrilho told Lusa agency that "there are several measures that have a direct impact on medical work, but unfortunately they are few" that will have “an impact on what would be desirable”.

For Noel Carrilho, some of the measures will come to be “completely inconsequential, because they are not directed, nor are they proportional to the need that the National Health Service presents in terms of medical human resources”.

Noel Carrilho also harshly criticized the Government's intention to pay 50% more to specialist doctors who do more than 500 hours of overtime work per year, to ensure the functioning of hospital emergencies.

“This is throwing dust into the eyes of the population and trying to do the same with doctors, to be nice, because effectively the measures that are established are absurd”, he criticized.

"We are talking here about 500 overtime hours, which is more than three months of regular work, three consecutive months of work", he explained, commenting: "A ministry that calls itself Health admits that its workers will be encouraged to do from 500 overtime. It is complete nonsense”, he said.

For Noel Carrilho, this incentive should be “completely prohibited to any worker” and instead it “is being encouraged”.

This measure will have to be “vehemently” contested and denounced, because “there can be no real intention here to reward this work”, he added.