Portugal

A key aspect of current reforms in Europe is an increased focus on the first line health services, with a central role for the general practitioner/family physician. This paper explores the awareness, among health system managers at various levels, of problems with performance, as well as their perception of what is being done and what could be done to improve it.

The International Labour Office (ILO), the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Public Services International (PSI) launched in 2000 a joint programme in order to develop sound policies and practical approaches for the prevention and elimination of violence in the health sector. When the programme was first established and information gaps were identified, it was decided to launch a number of country studies as well as cross-cutting theme studies and to conclude by drafting guidelines to address workplace violence in the health sector. This working paper presents the Synthesis Report of the commissioned country reports to stimulate further discussion in the area of workplace violence, encourage fact-finding research in other countries and support sound policy-making.

These studies measure and characterize the problem of violence against health professionals in the workplace in selected settings in Portugal. They answer questions such as: Who are the most affected health professionals? What types of violence are most frequent? In what circumstances do episodes of violence happen? What are the institutional procedures? What are the consequences for the victims, the Institutions and the perpetrators? What is the positioning of the NHS managers, the professional councils the unions and the professional associations about this problem? [author’s description]