António Lacerda Sales had stated on Tuesday that no foreign minister has the power to schedule appointments and influence or violate the conscience and autonomy of any doctor, referring to the case of the Portuguese-Brazilian twins, but a The day later, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Health said that he did not remember making an appointment for the sisters at the Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon.
Faced by SIC news, who said he has discovered that the General Inspectorate of Health Activities (IGAS), which is investigating the case, will be in possession of a document sent by a secretary of the former governor requesting an appointment for the twins in that hospital. Unit told Lacerda Sales that he could not remember trading personally or through third parties. However, he promised to request the above-mentioned documents from IGAS.
According to a TVI report, the twins’ initial consultation was requested by a foreign minister from the director of the Pediatrics Department of Santa Maria Hospital.
Asked about this situation, António Lacerda Sales said on Tuesday that “no Minister of Foreign Affairs, nor anyone else, has the power to schedule appointments, nor to influence or violate the conscience or autonomy of any doctor.” He also emphasized that “it would be very bad for any doctor to allow himself to be influenced, in his ethical commitment, by someone outside the institution or by an entity outside the institution.”
The twins’ case was revealed in a TVI report, broadcast in early November, according to which two Portuguese-Brazilian children came to Portugal in 2019 to receive the anti-spine drug Zolgensma, one of the most expensive in the world. muscle atrophy, which totaled four million euros.
According to TVI, there were suspicions that this had happened under the influence of the President of the Republic, who denied any interference in the case.
The case is being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office, by IGAS and is also the subject of an internal audit at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Norte, of which Santa Maria Hospital is part.
Source: DN
