The director of the Ophthalmology Service at Braga Hospital resigned on Tuesday, two days before reports emerged concerning 27 million euros contracts between his private company and the hospital, it was announced today.
In a statement sent to Lusa, the Local Health Unit of Braga (ULSB) stated that the director of Ophthalmology, Fernando Vaz, “submitted his resignation from the position of Director of the Ophthalmology Service in a letter dated June 27, 2025.”
The board of directors received and accepted this letter last Tuesday.
The Health Activities General Inspectorate (IGAS) has confirmed to SIC Notícias the opening of an investigation into the case. Notícias ao Minuto is attempting to verify this information.
Two days later, on Thursday, CNN reported that Braga Hospital had secured contracts worth over 27 million euros with a company owned by Fernando Vaz over 15 years.
“The potential issue of incompatibility or conflict of interest is under internal analysis,” added the ULSB administration.
The current ULSB board of directors has been in office since March 19, 2025.
The business relationship with Fernando Vaz’s company Iberoftal originated during the period of a public-private partnership (PPP), later transitioning to the Public Business Entity (EPE) model on September 1, 2019.
It further noted that this relationship was maintained until the end of 2023, with the start of the new management model of local health units (ULS).
Between 2019 and 2023, the service provision involved amounts exceeding 18.1 million euros.
At the beginning of 2024, an international public tender was announced for ophthalmology services, to be effective throughout that year.
A tender that “was internationally published and fully open to competition, having been duly reviewed by the Court of Auditors in the context of prior fiscalization processes.”
During the tender process, ULS Braga extended the services of Iberoftal through a direct adjustment of 743 thousand euros, “to ensure continued ophthalmology assistance, given the high demand for this specialty and the need to prevent interruptions in clinical activity.”
“After the 2024 contract concluded, and to ensure the normal and regular provision of health care to its users, ULS Braga initiated a new international public tender, fully open to competition, to be effective for three years (2025, 2026, and 2027). This process is duly processed and merely awaiting authorization for multiyear commitments by the sectoral and financial oversight bodies,” the statement added.
In the meantime, and given the necessity of obtaining said authorization, the administration stated that it has become necessary to resort to two direct adjustments amounting to 5.1 million euros, applicable until the start date of the continuous contract, to ensure the ongoing activity of the Ophthalmology Service at Braga Hospital.
The contract was signed “with the only entity that submitted a proposal under the international public tender” and also received prior approval from the Court of Auditors.
Regarding the alleged use of Braga Hospital interns for activities within the services provided by Iberoftal, the administration stated that it currently has “no formal knowledge or evidence of such practice.”
“If confirmed, such a situation will require strict investigation and be appropriately handled in compliance with applicable legal and ethical standards,” it assured.
It further indicated that, given the need for organizational strategy changes, procedures for expressing interest in clinical service management, one of which will be the ophthalmology service, will be initiated in the coming days to ensure stability and quality in the institution’s clinical governance.
The Order of Physicians has already requested clarifications from the Local Health Unit of Braga about the service director who owns a company that made contracts with the hospital unit and allegedly accumulated coordination functions in the private sector.
