The number of retired doctors who can work in health establishments and services integrated into the SNS this year is based on the proposal presented by the Executive Directorate of the National Health Service, according to the decree that comes into force on Tuesday, 27 January.

“Despite the measures that have been adopted to value and strengthen medical human resources in the National Health Service (SNS), particularly through increased training capacity and the hiring of new professionals, structural constraints remain that continue to influence the response capacity of health establishments and services,” says the Government in the decree.

Among these constraints, the Government highlights, “in a particularly significant way,” the current configuration of medical demographics, marked by a high number of retirements, a trend that “will continue in the coming years, with particular impact in the area of ​​general and family medicine, a fundamental pillar of the SNS.”

The Government warns that this reality has “a direct impact on the responsiveness of primary health care, and may exacerbate territorial inequalities and jeopardise the effective and timely access of populations to health care.”

Faced with this scenario, it argues, “the State must adopt exceptional, responsible and socially just solutions that ensure the continuity and quality of care, while simultaneously safeguarding the public interest.”

It was in this context that the Government says it has made, in its Program, “the commitment to strengthen the SNS and combat inequalities in access to health, expressly recognising the need to value and mobilise the accumulated experience of retired doctors who express a desire to continue working in the SNS, putting their knowledge and competence at the service of the populations.”

In this regard, the Executive Branch decided to extend, until 31 December 2027, the validity of the 2010 decree-law in its current wording, which establishes the regime applicable to the exercise of public functions or the provision of paid work by retired physicians in health establishments and services.

In 2026, up to 1,111 retired physicians may work in health establishments and services integrated into the SNS, regardless of their legal nature, according to the order.