José Manuel Silva, who was addressing a conference in Oeiras, near Lisbon, on 'Healthcare in the Future', said the debate's theme was "a tremendous challenge" and showed "enormous arrogance".


On climate change, he said that this should be seen as a challenge for health.


"We are facing an unsustainable situation on the planet," he said. "We shall do away with ourselves before we worry about the evolution of health. We can't discuss the future of health without discussing the climate."


On the demographic issue, he decried the fact that "nothing is being done to improve the birth rate" and said that this must change.
Meanwhile, "hundreds of doctors" are emigrating, he warned, noting that this was among some 1,800 being trained each year. While that is "far above our needs", there is a shortage of doctors in the National Health Service as a result of hiring problems, he alleged.


"If the Ministry of Health had followed our suggestions, at this moment all citizens would have access to a family doctor," he said.


According to Silva, Portugal's public health system is one of the best, despite the fact that the country spends less than the European Union average and that therefore "there's no more to cut".