The Regional Secretary for Health revealed in Angra do Heroísmo that he has already submitted a proposal to the Portuguese Medical Association regarding medical training accreditation.
 
"This month, we submitted a proposal to the Portuguese Medical Association, raising the awareness of medical specialities colleges for the possibility of granting partial training accreditation, as provided by law. According to it, health units are grouped by criteria of complementarity of medical services; this applies to hospitals and health centres," said Rui Luís.
 
The Secretary for Health added that this measure allows the movement of medical interns between various hospitals as well as various health centres.
 
Rui Luís spoke at the end of a meeting with the President of the Regional South Section and with the Delegate of the Portuguese Medical Association - Azores Section. According to him, "the maintenance of doctors in the Region is a concern," stressing that the Government "has been adopting strategies for the medium and long-term."
 
"If we ensure their specialty training here, we can easily attract them to the Region," said the government official.
 
"The Regional Health Council will work on this matter in December," said the Regional Secretary. He defended that "interns must have the same opportunities as their peers in other regions of the country, namely in terms of training and research."
 
Rui Luís also considered that the maintenance of doctors is not just a financial matter, adding that there are other measures with impact apart from training.
 
In this regard, he pointed out the possibility of "allowing part-time contracts so that doctors can work here and, simultaneously, in other hospitals where there are higher number of cases." He also mentioned the "creation of support for accommodation of doctors as well as support measures for their families."
 
The Regional Secretary pointed out that the concerns of the Portuguese Medical Association regarding the maintenance of doctors in the archipelago are the same as the ones that the Azorean Government has been expressing.
 
"This year, and for the first time, we were able to maintain all doctors who completed their internship after April. The authorisation was granted in May. The respective application have already taken place and we have secured the maintenance of doctors in the Region. It was something that happened in the Region. This did not happen in Mainland Portugal or in Madeira," said Rui Luís.
 
The applications provided 22 vacancies for medical specialties in hospital context and general practice.