The Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Cremerj) sent a letter to the Ministry of Education (MEC), this Thursday (8), claiming the guarantee of payment of salaries for resident physicians. In the text, Cremerj expresses concern about the recent news released by the press that the grants of about 14,000 resident physicians, who work in university hospitals of the federal network, could be suspended. The document draws attention to the risk that such interruptions could affect contracted doctors and other health professionals, which could intensify the disorders in the care of the population. The letter asks the folder for a response and measures for the situation.
According to the MEC, the remunerations for December – those that should be effective in early January 2023 – would be impaired due to the budget blocks suffered in the last week, which would impact on the short of about R$ 65 million to the folder to carry out the discharges.
In the letter, the council claims the guarantee of payment for doctors, reinforcing the importance of each one within the federal health units, mainly to ensure continuity of care for Brazilians. In addition to the issue of assistance, the council reinforces that university hospitals are essential in training and training specialist doctors and any interruption of resources also directly affects the quality of training for these professionals. The situation is aggravated if the suspensions affect contracted doctors and other health professionals.
The president of Cremerj, Clovis Munhoz points out that the state of Rio hosts university hospitals that are very important for training new specialists and, above all, for serving the population. “Resident or contracted doctors and other health professionals have a fundamental participation, so no salary payment can be impacted. For all these reasons, Cremerj is positioned in favor of these doctors and patients, who would be greatly harmed by this situation. We believe that the MEC also understands this and we expect a positive response about our craft”, he explained.
The report sought the MEC to talk about the issue and awaits a position.
budget locks
The budget blocks were announced in November by the federal government. According to the Ministry of Economy, the contingency of BRL 5.7 billion in non-mandatory spending is necessary for the federal spending ceiling to be met.
The most affected folders were Health, with R$ 1.435 billion blocked, and Education, with R$ 1.396 billion. Only the Ministries of Economy and Justice and Public Security were spared from the new cuts.