The document from the Independent Union of All United Nurses of the Continent and Islands (SITEU) was delivered to the Ministries of Health and Finance, as well as the Santo Tirso City Council and the board of the Médio Ave Local Health Unit (ULS), according to the press release.
In the document, healthcare professionals demand “assurance that the hospital will remain under public management, fully integrated into the National Health Service (SNS),” as well as “valuation and protection of the working conditions of the healthcare professionals employed there,” concluding that “health is an inalienable right and cannot be subject to private interests.”
For the signatories, the Médio Ave ULS—which spans the municipalities of Santo Tirso and Vila Nova de Famalicão—is “much more than the sum of its parts, being an exemplary model of healthcare integration.”
“It is also an important center for training in various medical and technical specialties, whose continuity will be compromised if the hospital is removed from the public sphere,” the document further states.
On March 15, the mayor of Santo Tirso, Alberto Costa, stated that he had received assurances from Health Minister Ana Paula Martins that the Santo Tirso Hospital would not come under the management of the Misericórdia before the legislative elections.
The minister’s assurance came during a meeting the socialist mayor had with the government official. According to Alberto Costa, the minister mentioned that a study on the transfer of the hospital’s management was underway and would likely only be ready after the May 18 elections.
The issue stems from an announcement made in December 2024 by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro that the Santo Tirso unit would come under the management of the Santa Casa, a decision that sparked controversy in the Porto district municipality, with social movements and political parties—except the PSD—demanding the facility’s retention in the SNS.
