Cheating or deceptive? – observer

The state budget for 2023 was recently handed over, and some of its actions began to be revealed.

Specifically, in the field of health, it expects an increase of about 1 billion euros (10.5%) compared to the initial budget (it is worth noting, in principle – since there is always, without exception, an exceptional budget “injection” at the end of each year) for 2022. Let’s analyze this figure a little , it can be seen that the expected increase in “personnel expenses” is (only) 2.9%.

This value can only have two interpretations: either it is false or it intends to deceive. Otherwise let’s see a short list of “promises” actually made and kept, which, unless the best opinion is, go against this meager sum made:

1. The average salary increase announced by the government for the civil service for 2023 is 3.6% (3.9% if we add the later promised increase in food subsidies). Assuming that the sample of individuals working in health in the public administration field is representative of the Portuguese population, with salaries covering the entire current salary range, an increase in health personnel expenditures of at least 3.6 – 3.9% would be expected.
2. The increase in the recruitment (employment) of health professionals, including physicians, in the National Health Service (SNS) has been widely publicized, including in the text of the current OE 2023 proposal. This measure, which is absolutely necessary, as shown by the frequent and almost endless “emergency crises” (among other failures and delays in the social network system), will certainly add significantly to personnel expenses. Or it will not be effective.
3. It is scheduled, for the year 2023, that the character of the doctor will be created “with full dedication”, and with better pay. This will logically mean more personnel costs.
4. This government announced an increase in the amount of overtime to be paid after 100 hours of work. Knowing that health is an important user of this resource, it is expected that if this measure is applied to hospitals, it will lead to a significant increase in expenditures with staff.
5. Finally, negotiations are underway to review several careers in health, specifically the medical profession, among others, where the (real and deserved) expectation is (or rather, was) that this translate into “tangible” improvements. of their wages (with the consequent increase in “employee expenses”)

Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the presentation of the 2.9% increase in the “Expense with Personnel” line, in Health, in OE 2023, was a mistake; Or the above-mentioned promises were only trying to deceive the most gullible people. But what a mistake, there is!