Nurses' association demands urgent hiring intervention
The Portuguese Order of Nurses (Ordem dos Enfermeiros or OE) has called for immediate government action to address the hiring of thousands of new professionals. The association claims that the Executive Directorate of the SNS is failing to approve necessary development plans, leaving many new nurses without placement in the public health system.
The Ordem dos Enfermeiros (Order of Nurses) is Portugal’s statutory professional body that registers and regulates nurses, sets professional standards, and handles discipline and professional conduct. Its warning about hiring limits matters because the Ordem represents the nursing workforce—restrictions on recruitment can worsen staff shortages and affect patient care, so expat nurses must be registered with the Ordem to practise and may be directly affected by any new hiring rules.
