With the inauguration of Manuel Pizarro as Minister of Health yesterday, the new holder of the portfolio received from the Prime Minister a guarantee that the government will strengthen investment in the National Health Service (SNS), but also the sign that it is necessary to investing in organization and management”. No deviations from the outlined policy for the sector: Pizarro has “all the conditions to continue the implementation of the government program, continue the ongoing reforms and continue the strategy to strengthen the SNS”.
“We must certainly continue to strengthen the National Health Service,” the prime minister said at the end of the brief inauguration ceremony at the Palácio de Belém, pointing out that the “new ceiling for the ministry’s budget for next year has already been set and has yet to be strengthened”. With regard to the organization and governance of the SNS, he underlined the adoption of the new statute in July, with the perspective of “better organisation, namely through the creation of a new Executive Board”, but also because of “new perspectives for career, namely for the ability to regulate the full deployment of professionals”. As for the opposition’s criticism of choosing a socialist to oversee the ministry, the executive leader replied that it would be odd if he chose an “opponent of the PS” – “Oppositions always have to have something to say and are rarely very imaginative.”
When Costa insisted on the idea of improving the management of the SNS, the new wallet holder took over the specifications. He had already been sworn in as a minister and started with “substantive questions” for the coming days, but in light of questions from journalists he also said that in Public Health “will always need more resources”, but also that there are, are used in the “most effective way possible”. Asked if he is comfortable with the new SNS statute, which he must now apply, Pizarro assured that he: “If I wasn’t comfortable, I couldn’t take over this place.”
“More part of the problem than the solution”
Marta Temido was also at the Palácio de Belém yesterday, referring for the first time to the reasons for her resignation, following the public note announcing her departure on August 30. The now ex-minister stated that the death of a pregnant woman transferred between hospitals in Lisbon “has no direct relationship with the care performance” of the SNS, was “of such seriousness that it was necessary to be accountable”. And “the first person in charge was the minister,” he added. It was the “last straw”, but not the only reason, with Marta Temido admitting she felt that “the way the industry saw the health minister was more part of the problem than the solution”. She assured that she would leave the place she held for almost four years without “bitterness of the mouth”, claiming that she will now take the place of deputy.
The challenges of the new minister
In the coming days, the names of the secretaries of state who will accompany Manuel Pizarro during the ministry will be announced. The 58-year-old doctor now has the solution to the many problems that have hit the SNS in the post-pandemic period, namely the lack of professionals who have conditioned emergency services, especially obstetrics.
The new minister will also be responsible for implementing the implementation direction of the SNS. On Friday, still in Brazil, Marcelo framed the choice of the new minister in this broader framework, as there was an approach to what he defended, the “idea of a clear separation between political decisions and a more independent, more autonomous [do SNS]through an institution other than the Ministry”.
Another “hot” dossier for Pizarro’s term is the lack of general practitioners, a situation that is getting worse in recent years and now reaches more than a million Portuguese. Also on the table are the career assessment negotiations doctors and nurses, which Manuel Pizarro inherited from Marta Temido in a context of perceived dissatisfaction among professionals in the sector.
Source: DN
