The clinical director of the Unidade Local de Saúde Santa Maria (ULSSM), Rui Tato Marinho, stated today that he will continue in his role, unaware of any legal proceedings for his replacement.
“I am completely unaware of any legal process that might have been initiated to alter the composition of the ULSSM board of directors, as I have not been notified of any act or decision in this regard by any body or institution,” the doctor said in a letter accessed by the Lusa news agency.
On Thursday, the health unit’s administration, chaired by Carlos Martins, announced changes to its composition, which would involve the departure of Rui Tato Marinho and the clinical director for primary health care.
In the letter sent today to the ULSSM president and the head of the medical association, Tato Marinho emphasized that, in addition to being an employee dedicated to gastroenterology, he holds “the position associated with the clinical director for hospital care on the board of directors” of the institution.
“Functions that I will continue to perform, exactly as I was appointed, with the same integrity, competence, commitment, and dedication as always,” he asserted.
In the letter, the doctor also mentioned being “completely unrelated to the unfounded news that, in recent days, has been spread in the media,” claiming it involves him “unjustly and irresponsibly.”
“The public exposure has evidently caused personal and professional harm, further worsening the damages that had already been accumulating due to the way I have been treated in numerous situations within the ULSSM board of directors,” lamented Rui Tato Marinho.
The internal communication sent to employees on Thursday stated that Carlos Martins “requested superior authorization to initiate legal procedures to change the composition of the institution’s highest body” and assured that Rui Tato Marinho “has not been dismissed or removed or obviously replaced in his functions.”
In that note, the board of directors also conveyed that the process initiated for changes in its composition was “normal in the life of institutions” and was unrelated to audits or inquiries conducted or in progress at the health unit.
The alleged exploitation of the Integrated Management System for Surgery Registration (SIGIC), which reportedly allowed a dermatologist to receive hundreds of thousands of euros for operating on patients on Saturdays, led the ULSSM president to initiate audits and suspend additional production of dermatology surgeries.
In a Facebook post late last week, the head of the Medical Association expressed hope that Rui Tato Marinho “was not another sacrifice on the altar of convenience, to hide weaknesses that belong to others, now sheltered under the cloak of evading responsibility.”
“It is unprecedented, unsettling, and corrosive to remove a clinical director in this manner, without explanations, in a gesture that further undermines all those who dare to lead in the nearly unfeasible context of leading in the SNS,” wrote Carlos Cortes.
After receiving clarification from the ULSSM president, Carlos Cortes reiterated that the “clinical director was removed without clear reasons.”
