Public hospitals must ensure that they have enough professionals to be able to discharge users on the three days in which the Government granted sick leave, according to an order to which Lusa had access.
The order, sent to Local Health Units, says that it is up to health service managers to identify workers essential to the functioning of services, particularly inpatient services, to ensure that it is possible to discharge patients on the 24th, 26th and 31st of December, days on which the Government granted sick leave.
The document, signed by the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, also states that when the enjoyment of time off cannot coincide with the 24th, 26th and/or 31st of December, the top managers of the services must grant the equivalent exemption “on a day or days to be determined in due course”.
The order, which defines guidelines on the application of time tolerance to workers, bodies, services and other entities under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, including the public business sector, highlights the need to continue to ensure the continuity and quality of certain essential services that, for reasons of public interest, must remain in operation.