The Portuguese Medical Association has decided to set up an independent commission to help bring the government and doctors closer together and find solutions to the tensions between the two parties.

In a statement released this Friday, the Order says it is concerned about the current crisis in relations between the government and doctors and has decided to intervene through an independent and impartial commission.

The Commission includes Dom Dinis Sengulane, Brazão Mazula, Dinis Matsolo, Rodrigues Dombo, Severino Ngoenha, Jorge Ferrão, Jorge Matine and Angelina Magibire.

According to the Order, the Commission's mission will be to establish communication, bring people closer together and re-establish trust between the government and doctors.

The committee should also "understand the sensitivity of the parties and the aspects of contention and support them in defining the best format for resolving these differences".

The formation of the committee was decided after a meeting on Thursday, which aimed to find solutions to get the government and the doctors off the collision course.

Recently, the government announced that it would hire 60 doctors to deal with the strike. It promised to open disciplinary proceedings against all the doctors who joined the strike.