Although the heads of the Armed Forces Hospital (HFAR) had been warned of an inevitable collapse since at least September, it was not until Monday that the government authorized the remaining contracts that were missing to maintain full operation of the two poles. in Lisbon and Porto, of that military health unit.
As DN reported, more than 200 contracts for technical assistants, operational assistants and diagnostic technicians were due to be renewed last Thursday, the rejection of which by the Directorate-General for Administration and Public Employment surprised the HFAR directorate.
The immediate impact, from early 2023, would include the closure of 68 hospital beds; the decrease in intensive care capacity; the cessation of approximately 20,000 consultations and 200 operations; the 50% reduction in all administrative activity (patient care, consultation appointments, etc.); also reaching the areas of hospital equipment maintenance, energy, water distribution, with effect on hemodialysis.
After the issue has been made publicoh, the missing contracts for the Lisbon hub were renewed, but this Monday morning there were still 54 missing from Porto.
The HFAR management had met and decided to activate the emergency plan and had already contacted Hospital de S. João for the transfer of patients.
At the end of the afternoon the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) came to inform that “the Lisbon and Porto hubs of the HFAR will maintain the operating conditions they have been working with this year, completing the processes pending regularization related to personnel contracts for the year 2023”.
It also adds in a statement that “a process for opening tender procedures for hiring employees with a permanent link to HFAR personnel🇧🇷
The HFAR has a structural deficiency in its organic framework and that no government has decided: of the predicted and necessary 926 soldiers, there is a shortage of 473; of the 754 missing civilians, 169 – a total shortfall of 652 personnel in about 1600🇧🇷
“Authorization and budget reinforcement has been requested repeatedly for the admission of at least 160 people to the workforce, through a public tender, but unfortunately there has been no development. Source of military health.
This shortage of personnel has been partly compensated by the hiring of the above service providers, a total of 350, which happened in 2022, plus the hiring of some companies.
Source: DN
