"We maintain a strong mobilization of pharmacists in this fight for salary review, for hiring more pharmacists and for the guarantee of safety and quality care for SNS users", said the leader of the National Union of Pharmacists (SNF), Norberto Cardoso.

This was the second day of the strike by these public hospital professionals, with stoppages in the districts of Beja, Évora, Faro, Lisbon, Portalegre, Santarém and Setúbal and in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.

The protest continues on Thursday, with pharmacists on strike in the districts of Bragança, Braga, Porto, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Aveiro, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Coimbra, Leira and Viseu.

“There are hospitals that registered 100% and others with a lower adherence, but with figures of 90% globally in the districts and autonomous regions” where the strike took place, assured Norberto Cardoso.

Regarding the effects of the stoppage, the union leader said that outpatient services, which are not included in the minimum services, “were practically closed” in the hospitals covered by the strike, with “delays in the distribution of medication to hospitalized patients”.

“We are not aware of any complaints from any hospital, nor of any incidents regarding compliance with the minimum services”, added Norberto Cardoso, noting that full compliance is “a hallmark of all pharmacists' strikes".

The SNF calls for urgent solutions that adapt the number of pharmacists in the SNS to the needs of pharmaceutical activities, the valuation of the profession, salary updating and the regularization of precarious contracts.

The union also defends the recognition of specialist titles awarded by the Order of Pharmacists and the regulation of a special and transitional process for pharmaceutical residency, by those who were hired after March 2020.