The government has changed, and the year has turned, but the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, remains, as does one of the issues that kept her in the spotlight during the previous legislature: the death of a 53-year-old man in Pombal, which occurred during a strike by the National Medical Emergency Institute (INEM) in November.
The controversy resurfaced on Wednesday when the Inspectorate-General of Health Activities (IGAS) reported that “the death could have been avoided if rescue services had arrived within a minimum and reasonable time.”
In response, the Ministry of Health indicated that this death was related to the alleged lack of diligence of two professionals involved in the process and not to the INEM strike.
However, amid differing positions, other parties also have their say. From the Right to the Left, what are they saying?
From the CPI to the Possibility of the Minister’s Resignation
This Thursday, Chega and the Socialist Party demanded political consequences for the conclusions of the IGAS report. Speaking to journalists after a meeting with the government in Parliament to set the date for the next local elections, Chega’s parliamentary leader, Pedro Pinto, insisted that the Minister of Health “is not fit to continue” and that it was a mistake to keep her in office after the last legislative elections.
“It’s not enough for the Minister of Health to come to Parliament and say ‘I take responsibility.’ What responsibility? The responsibility was to offer her position and leave this government. In fact, she should never have entered this government; we said this from the very beginning,” he argued.
On the PS side, Pedro Delgado Alves considered that the government cannot pass over the issue “without any consequence” on the political and administrative level, noting that the Executive “has not spoken or explained anything to citizens about the reasons for this failure and whether it will draw political consequences.”
Delgado Alves questioned Prime Minister Luís Montenegro about whether, now that a “significant failure in the management of the Ministry of Health” has been detected, the option of having Ana Paula Martins continue as Minister of Health remains.
Later in the afternoon, Socialist Mariana Vieira da Silva announced that the PS “will urgently call the Minister of Health to Parliament.”
The PCP, through parliamentary leader Paula Santos, argued that there are “political responsibilities” to be derived from this process, especially as resources should have been assured to INEM, which were not.
“This cannot happen; there must be the necessary workers to promptly ensure emergency assistance to the population and, indeed, the operability of emergency resources,” she added.
Meanwhile, Liberal Initiative was another party reacting, explaining that it will also propose the formation of a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) into INEM’s management.
In a note sent to the press, IL emphasized that “the potential delays in service during the November strike raised questions about a possible link between the strike and patient deaths.”
“This was yet another episode demonstrating the clear lack of resources INEM has to adequately respond to the population. Years of poor management pose a risk to patient lives,” the party stated.
What Does IGAS Say (Also About Other Cases)?
In the report initially reported by Expresso but subsequently accessed by Notícias ao Minuto, IGAS stated that “the death could have been avoided if rescue services had arrived in a minimum and reasonable time.”
The letter even suggested that the man might have survived if it had been “possible to evacuate via a Coronary Green Way to one of the nearest hospitals, where he could undergo coronary angioplasty in one of the respective Hemodynamic Units.”
IGAS also concluded that no causality was proven concerning the delay in rescue in the case of a 77-year-old man’s death in the Algarve and an 86-year-old woman’s death in Alentejo.
Both processes were shelved, and the Inspector General of Health informed Expresso that the remaining inquiries are expected to be concluded by the end of July.
INEM also assured that it would open a “disciplinary process to clarify the situation and take proportional measures,” and that it will follow IGAS’s recommendations.
Recall that the case dates back to November 4, 2024, when two strikes occurred simultaneously – one by pre-hospital emergency technicians in overtime and another by the public administration.
Leia Também: Avoidable or “lack of diligence”? Death during INEM strike: What is known
