Health Minister Manuel Pizarro admitted on Monday that Portugal’s problem of emergencies is “chronic”, hoping it will improve with the opening of health centers at extra times.
“There are difficulties, I regret these difficulties, we have to overcome them. It is a challenge, but it is a systemic challenge. In Portugal we have a chronic problem with emergencies. I think accountability is the way we organize the system. We have few alternatives”said Manuel Pizarro.
The official added that the winter contingency plan foresees the opening of health centers at extra hours and argued that there are already 176 health centers open outside normal hours.
The health minister spoke to journalists in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto district, after he was confronted with problems in hospital emergency departments that resulted in reports of long waiting times.
“Today the situation in Portuguese hospitals is much better than last Monday. I always react with sadness to the information that we have service problems in another hospital, but we cannot confuse this with the general situation of services “said the ruler.
Manuel Pizarro stated that “today things are going much better with the hospitals in Greater Lisbon” and praised the efforts of doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
“They have made a huge effort and in general the Portuguese are treated very well in public hospitals”said.
On the sidelines of the initiative “Mental Health in the Post-Pandemic — Stigma and Combat”, promoted in collaboration by Rádio Renascença and the Chamber of Vila Nova de Gaia, Manuel Pizarro said that “specific difficulties will always exist around the world”🇧🇷 The government official admitted that the National Health Service (SNS) does not have the number of professionals it needs, although more than 25,000 have entered since 2015.
“Of course we need more. We are working to get it”summarized.
Invited to comment on the interview of former Health Minister Correia de Campos, to Jornal de Negócios and Antena 1, in which he considered that “the Ministry of Health was transformed into Secretary of State for Finance” is that “it is necessary to broaden the wallet”Manuel Pizarro reiterated that the Health budget has the biggest increase ever.
“I think this is a very positive budget for the SNS. It will be a very demanding implementation budget”said.
Protect what you hear “always with great respect the statements of people with so much experience”Pizarro declined to comment on the former minister’s words, but added: “I have no doubt that we will have a very demanding budget exercise.”
Already questioned about the use of overtime to fill scales on the SNS, the health minister said “it’s not easy” to find a system that doesn’t rely so much on overtime, something he said “as much as possible” would like to avoid.
“There is an unfavorable medical demographic: there are a lot of doctors over 50 who are exempt from doing night shifts or even those over 55 who are exempt from emergency care. We will see if through the reorganization of the emergency department we become less dependent on overtime”orphan.
Finally, Manuel Pizarro pointed out that Portugal has a network “very powerful with more than 80 aid stations open 24 hours a day”something which, he stressed, is “highly consumer of specialized personnel”.
Source: DN
