In a letter addressed to the president of the parliamentary inquiry committee regarding the fire at Hospital Divino Espírito Santo (HDES), João Mota Vieira has firmly denied the statements made by the regional secretary of Health during her testimony last Thursday. The letter was obtained by the Lusa news agency.
Mota Vieira disputed the claim that the report “merely highlights the severity” of the incident and “does not present alternatives, proposals, or strategic lines to resolve the issues.”
“The technical report includes, in section three, ‘Very urgent recommendations to the Board of Directors of HDES,’ a clear and detailed set of immediate and urgent corrective actions to mitigate the serious fire safety risks identified at HDES,” the letter stated.
Mota Vieira also criticized what he described as a “series of abusive and untimely interpretations” by the Health Secretary regarding the report’s content, specifically about the need for a thorough recovery of the HDES building.
“Our position—as expressed on various occasions—has always been that the top priority should be the resumption of healthcare activities in the main HDES building. For this to happen, it is (and continues to be) absolutely urgent to mitigate systemic risks,” he warned.
During her hearing, the regional secretary of Health and Social Security argued that “undertaking renovations at HDES and attending to patients at the same time was not a solution.” She added that, for clinical safety reasons, the Regional Government decided to invest in setting up a modular hospital while simultaneously preparing a comprehensive intervention in the main building.
“The well-being and safety of patients are above politics and parties,” emphasized Mónica Seidi.
The regional secretary further insisted that all decisions made by the Regional Government coalition (PSD, CDS-PP, and PPM) regarding the fire were based on “clinical criteria.” She pointed out that neglecting these considerations could have resulted in fatalities, which, fortunately, did not occur.
On April 3, Mota Vieira, when heard by the inquiry committee, warned of the risks of new fires in the largest healthcare facility in the Azores and argued that the main building could have already been fully reopened.
On May 4, 2024, HDES, the largest hospital in the Azores, was affected by a fire, necessitating the transfer of all patients to other healthcare units in the region, Madeira, and the mainland.
