This will strengthen the training and care capacity of the Regional Health Service (SRS), the Azorean Government announced.

According to the Regional Secretariat for Health and Social Security, in 2026, a total of 40 doctors will attend the general training year, distributed among the region's three hospitals, located on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Faial, also passing through the archipelago's Island Health Units.

In the context of specific training, 31 doctors were placed in the region, of which 17 are at the Hospital of the Holy Spirit (HDES), two at the Hospital of the Holy Spirit of Terceira Island (HSEIT), 10 at the São Miguel Island Health Unit and two at the Terceira Island Health Unit.

The supervisory body highlights the fact that, for the first time, HSEIT is receiving resident physicians in the specialties of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pediatrics, as well as HDES welcoming its first resident in Emergency Medicine.

Quoted in a press release, the Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, congratulated the 71 resident physicians who are beginning their general and specific training in the Azores this month, emphasizing that strengthening medical training in the Region is part of a broader strategy to enhance the Regional Health Service.

“This is the path we have chosen, combining the opportunities provided by the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will allow the Regional Health Service to modernize, differentiate itself, and become more competitive and attractive for the retention of health professionals,” emphasizes Mónica Seidi.

The governor acknowledges that the region faces a strategic challenge in the need to sustainably strengthen and stabilize the number of doctors in the SRS (Regional Health Service), advocating for "a joint and coordinated effort involving the Regional Government, the Government of the Republic, educational institutions, professional bodies, and social partners."

The head of the ministry recalled some of the measures currently in force in the region aimed at attracting and retaining human resources, namely the differentiated increase in the salaries of doctors on islands without hospitals and the fact that there is a tax reduction on direct taxes for taxpayers (IRS and VAT) in the region.

In a message to the doctors who are now beginning their internship in the Azores, Mónica Seidi highlighted the importance of the choice made, considering that "choosing the region represents not only the beginning of a demanding professional journey, but also a decisive contribution to the future of the health of Azoreans."