A new study by a group of Portuguese experts, makes ten recommendations aimed at improving the model of organisation and financing of Portugal’s National Health Service.
The document notes that the financial crisis that the country underwent from 2011 to 2014 saw a “strong reduction in public expenditure,” with measures imposed by the ‘troika’ of the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank as part of a eurozone bailout, resulting in a “low budget for health” and the “strangulation of cash-flow at hospitals” - which depend on decisions by the ministry.
The experts added in the report that it is “essential for hospital management to recover autonomy” of services.