The union’s secretary-general, Jorge Roque da Cunha, said that general and family medicine is seeing between 80% and 85% of members taking part, while in surgery wings the figure is around 80%. In outpatient departments in hospitals, he said, early estimates are of 75% to 80%.

According to da Cunha, there are cases in which the shutdown is total, as at Lisbon’s Hospital São José, where in all five surgery wings all doctors are on strike.

There is a similar situation at the Pedro Hispano Hospital in Matosinhos and the Estefânia Pediatric Hospital in Lisbon, he said.

Doctors at midnight on Monday began a two-day national strike, which was joined from 8am by nurses, who are striking until Friday.

The two main doctors’ unions each convened a one-day strike, the SIM for Tuesday and the National Federation of Physicians for Wednesday. The latter union is also planning a demonstration for Wednesday afternoon outside the Ministry of Health in Lisbon.

Doctors and nurses argue that they are fighting for the dignity of their professions and for a better National Health Service (SNS).

The doctors are pressing for everyone in Portugal to have their own family doctor, as well as calling for a reduction in the numbers of patients on GPs’ lists and for more time for appointments. They also want shifts in Accident & Emergency departments to be reduced to 12 hours from the current 18, among other demands, including the possibility of opting to work exclusively in public service – with associated benefits.

In their strike warnings, the doctors’ unions are also pressing for negotiations on a new salary structure, stressing that this should have taken place in January 2015.