The National Health Forum will take place on April 21 at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP). The event is organized by CINTESIS, FMUP and the Fórum Nacional da Saúde (National Health Forum).
In this first meeting, interventions from health professionals, university professors, researchers, managers/administrators of public and private health institutions, governors and former governors from various political backgrounds are expected. The current Secretary of State of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, is confirmed to attend.
Created as a result of the will of more than two hundred health professionals and coordinated by Rui Nunes, a researcher at CINTESIS and a professor at FMUP, this Forum is presented as “a space for innovative reflection in the area of health policies” and a “collaborative and networking platform”, which it presents as “an independent network, in terms of politics or society’s interest groups”.
This initiative aims to “discuss, without taboos, new models of integration, referral and innovation in health to ensure the sustainability of the system and equity of access of the Portuguese to a system that is increasingly stratified”.
On this occasion, thematic working groups will be presented, which will reflect on “the main constraints of the health system, such as emergencies, obstetrics, the lack of family doctors”, but also on “health literacy and education, global health and the state of readiness to combat new epidemics”, among other topics.
“The Portuguese health system, especially the NHS, is today at a huge crossroads. On the one hand, there has been a substantial increase in financial resources for the sector over recent years. On the other, there are huge shortages and unacceptable regional disparities in access to health. There are serious problems in health management and administration, namely in the interface with the private and social sector”, says Rui Nunes.
According to the CINTESIS researcher, the main objective of the National Health Forum is to present “concrete proposals for a structural reform of the health system” and “serve the population and contribute to the existence of health care of excellence”.
For the future, “thematic meetings on specific areas of health” are planned, which should result in “a white paper with proposals for the evolution of the Portuguese health system”.
The program of the event is available here. Participation is free, but requires registration.