“Lamentably, I have no choice but to resign from my duties in light of the humiliating, degrading, discriminatory, and persecutory treatment I have been subjected to over the past year by the hospital administration,” writes the doctor in a letter accessed by Lusa.
In this letter, Miguel Alpalhão, who received over 700,000 euros in three years from additional surgeries at Hospital de Santa Maria, notes that the termination of his contract, signed on January 1, 2024, will take effect on January 12, 2026, following the end of the suspension imposed on him, which included a total salary forfeiture.
The doctor further states that he ends his contract with the “peaceful conscience” of someone who has fulfilled his duties and obligations “in accordance with superior orders and existing procedures” at the hospital, criticizing the Santa Maria administration.
“I point out that the suspension I face merely aims to mask a systemic issue of serious faults attributable to the administration, as reflected in recent public news, which deserves to be known and scrutinized,” the dermatologist emphasizes.
He also mentions that the suspension intends to make him a “scapegoat” to clean the image of an institution that cannot take responsibility and protect its employees.
“Demand accountability from those who made the rules and ordered the procedures, not from those who fulfilled them as contractually obliged,” writes Miguel Alpalhão, indicating his defense arguments were ignored.
Given this, he believes that “only judicial means will ensure justice,” notes the letter dated today.
The doctor also highlights the dermatology service having “many competent and dedicated professionals,” wishing the service director the “greatest success” in its upliftment.
A report by the Inspectorate-General of Health Activities (IGAS), published this month, concluded that the doctor proposed, approved, and coded his surgeries over 350 times and scheduled consultations for his parents without mandatory prior referral and operated on them, receiving more than 5,500 euros.
The additional surgical production is a system within the Integrated Management System for Surgery Patients (SIGIC) that allows operations outside the normal working hours, such as weekends, to reduce waiting lists.
The IGAS report was sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
[Updated at 5:40 PM]
