The Regional Secretary for Health launched on Friday a challenge to all those who criticise the shortage of general practitioners in the archipelago to "help us finding doctors who wish to work in the Azores."

Luís Cabral spoke at the opening of the 13th Conference for General Practitioners in the Azores that is taking place in Ponta Delgada and stressed the efforts undertaken by the Regional Government to address this shortage, including the creation of attractive incentives and the provision of support to interns and specialists who choose to work in regional health units.

The Regional Secretary conveyed his belief that the situation will change "as there are many doctors who are about to complete their medical training, which increases the supply of this specialised resource."

The doctors' adherence to the 40-hour work week, as in accordance to the new salary scale, was another aspect highlighted by Luís Cabral to improve the coverage of the Azorean population by general practitioners, who will cover 1,900 patients instead of the previous 1,500.

Luís Cabral also highlighted the efforts undertaken by the Regional Government in order to expand the access of the Azorean population to general practitioner care. In this context, the government official emphasised that these professionals hold key responsibilities in the provision of health care.
 
For the Regional Secretary, General Practitioners "are the front line of the Regional Health System that identifies the most serious medical conditions and refers them within the system," which he considered to be "fundamental to the effectiveness of health services."

Taking into account the current socio-economic context, Luís Cabral defended the need for creative solutions so that we can do more with the funds available; therefore, a restructuring process is currently undergoing in the Health sector with the aim of ensuring the sustainability of the system.

In this regard, it is essential to build a good pre-hospital emergency network as only then it will be possible to provide "a better response to the population" as well as to reach "faster to people in case of accident and sudden illness" and to make "hospitals increasingly available to treat emergencies and specific situations. "

The promotion of intra-level standardisation with the increase of quality and proficiency in each service or unit, the implementation of good practices adopted inside and outside the Region and the reorganisation of the health system, through an integrated approach that combines primary health care with hospital care, are some of the aspects to take into consideration in this process.

In his speech, Luís Cabral also urged all participants that come from outside the archipelago to "make good publicity" of the natural beauties of the archipelago as well as of the Azorean people. The government official also said that "maybe they can convince some of their peers to live, work and enjoy everyday life in the Azores."