Lack of language support prevents Ukrainian doctors from practising in Portugal

Lisbon: Ukrainian doctors in Portugal are facing language barriers that hinder their integration into the healthcare system. Despite initial pledges of support, concerns have been raised that “nothing has been done to help.”

A lack of support for learning Portuguese has prevented around 50 Ukrainian doctors, most of whom are women, from integrating into the Portuguese healthcare system.

In an interview with the Lusa news agency, Carlos Cortes, president of the Portuguese Medical Association (OM), expressed concern, saying that Portugal “welcomed Ukrainian refugee doctors with open arms” but then “failed to provide them with the necessary tools.”

When these doctors arrived in Portugal in 2022, the OM had offered to suspend the official Portuguese language test to help them join medical teams under the supervision of a mentor. However, this proposal was never implemented by the government.

Carlos Cortes has been monitoring the situation closely, meeting with some of the doctors and raising their concerns with both the former and current Ministry of Health teams.

According to Cortes, the organisation urged the Ministry of Health to implement policy changes to prevent foreign doctors from being barred from practicing due to language challenges. Speaking to TSF radio, he expressed frustration that “nothing has been done to help” and emphasised that language barriers could “easily be overcome” through support programs.

Data from the OM, shared with Lusa last October, show that in 2021 there were 4,360 foreign doctors practicing in Portugal, a number that has risen to 4,770 this year.

In 2024, the five most represented nationalities among foreign doctors are Spanish (35.4%), Brazilian (26.9%), Italian (5.7%), Ukrainian (3.9%), and German (3.5%).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently warned that Europe faces a “ticking time bomb” due to its shortage of healthcare professionals.

In Germany, complex bureaucratic requirements in the qualification recognition system make it challenging for foreign doctors to begin practicing. Like other European countries, Germany has been grappling with a shortage of doctors.

“Germany will face a shortage of 50,000 doctors in the coming years,” Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in an interview with DW in August 2024.

When it comes to healthcare professionals from Ukraine, a Die Welt investigation found that although around 1,600 Ukrainian doctors arrived in Germany following the Russian invasion, only 187 have received full accreditation to practice.

Unlike Portugal, where language support is the main barrier, the issue in Germany centres on the recognition of qualifications. Despite passing the German language test, foreign professionals often face obstacles in the lengthy accreditation process — a situation that the German doctors’ union and federal government are working to address.

In Ireland, the challenges faced by Ukrainian doctors mainly involve mastering English and navigating the Medical Council registration process, which Ukrainian doctors describe as “lengthy.”