Doctors volunteering to help Portugal’s overstretched health service say they are being turned away or encountering unnecessary bureaucracy. Thousands of doctors, most retired but some in the private and public sector offering to work extra hours, have put their names forward to help state hospitals since last March, but few have been contacted. Led by prominent surgeon Gentil Martins, scores of doctors have accused the government of 'pure incompetence' in a letter circulated on Monday.