UEMO Autumn General Assembly – 30 and 31 October – Key outputs

UEMO Autumn General Assembly – Key outputs:

UEMO held its Autumn General Assembly in Óbidos, Portugal, on 30 and 31 October, with the presence of delegations from 24 countries, observers from two countries and representatives from seven European Medical Organizations (European Association of Senior Hospital Physicians, European Council of Medical Orders, European Junior Doctors, European Medical Students Associations, European Union of Medical Specialists, European Young Family Doctors Movement, and Standing Committee of European Doctors).

There were seven keynote speakers: Ana Correia de Oliveira (Member of the Board, Executive Board of the Portuguese National Health Service), Carlos Cortes (President of the Portuguese Medical Association – by vídeo), Catarina Martins (Member of the European Parliament and coordinator, SANT Committee), Filipa Lança, Vice-President of the South Regional Council of the Portuguese Medical Association, Filipe Daniel (Mayor of Óbidos), Nuno Jacinto (President of the Portuguese Association of Family Medicine), and Rita Sá Machado (Director-General and Chief Medical Officer, Portugal).

The Plenary voted favourably regarding the establishment of a Working Group to review the European Training Requirement (ETR) for Family Medicine by 20 March 2027. The delegates elected for the  ETR Working Group are: Peter Holden (Chair) Calin Bumbulut (Deputy Chair), Ray Walley (rapporteur), Gindrovel Dumitra, Ylva Sandstrom, Venothan Suri, Joseph Portelli Demajo. A timeline for the ETR for Family Medicine was also approved.

Tiago Villanueva (President), Catarina Matias (Secretary-General), Pedro Fonte (Treasurer), Branka Lazic and Peter Holden (Vice-Presidents) were reelected for a second mandate between 2027 and 2030.

The first draft of the ETR for Competence in Palliative Medicine, currently in development with the involvement of UEMO, was formally endorsed by the General Assembly.

The Plenary also voted favourably regarding the admission of the Hungarian Medical Chamber (MOK) as an observer, with immediate effect.

Four statements were approved at the General Assembly:

• UEMO statement on cardiovascular health checks
• From dual pathway to a common European specialist standard for General Practice/Family Medicine
• Rationale for the Inclusion of Family Medicine/General Practice in Annex V, Point 5.1.3, of Directive 2005/36/EC
• Protecting the core functions of Primary Health Care

The Management Study Group of the Portuguese Association of Family Medicine (GEST-APMGF) organized a Working Group in the General Assembly that covered the following topics: Evolution of the healthcare system in Portugal, Clinical governance in primary care, Benchmarking of healthcare units, Scope of family medicine in Portugal and Human talent (differentiation, training standards, and recruitment).

The next UEMO meeting will be hosted by the Austrian Medical Chamber on 7-8 May, 2027 in Vienna.