Following the launch of the National Global Health Observatory by the University of Coimbra (UC), Ana Paula Martins emphasized to reporters that the lack of resources is the greatest challenge facing the National Health Service (SNS) and that the Government must adapt to the varied territorial and local realities across the country.
“Regional emergencies are absolutely crucial to continue providing emergency and urgent healthcare services to citizens, but we cannot maintain the same approach as before,” she stressed.
The official noted that the upcoming decades “will certainly be different from the last.”
“We have been feeling the shortage of human resources for a long time, and we also have an organizational model today that may no longer fully meet the aspirations of all generations,” she stated.
The Health Minister emphasized that services need reorganization to avoid excessive overtime, “which is currently necessary to keep services operational.”
Ana Paula Martins pointed out that, in this reorganization, it is essential to provide the best care to everyone in each region with the available resources.
“This requires reforms, and we cannot simply maintain the status quo because that is not possible. These reforms have been studied for a long time, and in the last year and a half, they have been revisited with some innovations,” said the official, asserting her commitment to health reform, “always considering regional differences and their impacts.”
Regarding the launch of the National Global Health Observatory by UC, which continues the work developed by the Coimbra Health consortium, involving the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Coimbra (FMUC) and the Local Health Unit, the minister considered it “another step forward in producing evidence to support health policy definition.”
The aim is for “observatories like this, independent of political power, to monitor public policies, contributing to adjustments and decisions to define policies with a higher probability of success.”
“This observatory, focusing on health diplomacy and multiculturalism, can help better understand how to deliver quality healthcare to populations with different cultural characteristics and ensure health equity for everyone living, working, and pursuing life projects in Portugal,” she highlighted.
Carlos Robalo Cordeiro, director of FMUC and head of the National Global Health Observatory, explained to reporters that this entity will serve as a platform for producing science, knowledge, and guidance for health organizations and political decision-makers.
