Portugal sees increase in nurses leaving country, mainly for Switzerland

More than 3,300 nurses have left Portugal since the start of the pandemic in 2020, with Switzerland being the main destination country, according to data from the Nurses Association, which points to an increase in emigration in 2022.

The Nurses’ Association has received 3,364 requests for declarations for emigration since the start of 2020, and the most recent data indicate that the requests went up again in 2022, totalling 1,221. This was 308 more than in 2021 (913).

Speaking to Lusa on Tuesday, the head of the Nurses’ Association, Ana Rita Cavaco, stressed that the more than 3,300 professionals who left the country between 2020 and the end of 2022 correspond to the number of nurses trained annually by Portuguese schools. (...)