Azores government to introduce incentives to retain nurses

The Azores regional government is preparing a new decree that will create financial and professional incentives to encourage nurses to stay in the Regional Health Service (SRS). The proposal, presented by Health and Social Security Secretary Mónica Seidi during a hearing of the Legislative Assembly’s Social Affairs Commission in Ponta Delgada, is modeled on the incentive scheme already in place for doctors.

The move follows a resolution presented by the sole Left Bloc deputy in the Azorean parliament, António Lima, who noted that the promised nurse incentives have not been implemented since 2023. Lima argued that the SRS has struggled to attract young nurses and to stop existing staff from leaving for better opportunities elsewhere, and called for greater hiring autonomy for the three regional hospitals in Ponta Delgada, Terceira and Horta.

Seidi said the decree should be finalised and ready for publication at the beginning of next year, but acknowledged that fiscal constraints mean the incentives cannot be extended to all nurses. She indicated that quotas and criteria may be introduced to prioritise peripheral islands, warned against retroactive application, and stressed that nurses already working in smaller islands must not be penalised by the new scheme.