“I think there is a problem of organization and accountability, and we must definitively look at where we want to take the SNS,” said the admiral, speaking to reporters after a visit and meeting at the University of Évora.
Gouveia e Melo was questioned about the Health sector and issues in this area, such as the case reported today of a woman who gave birth in an Uber in Loures while being transported to the Hospital de São Francisco Xavier, in Lisbon.
“What can I say about that? I will say what all Portuguese people feel. They feel there is a problem that is not being resolved. And why is it not being resolved? Is it because there are no resources?” questioned the presidential candidate.
The admiral Gouveia e Melo argued, “those without a destination cannot define a course,” using this maxim to refer to the Health sector.
“What is the SNS we want? Are we weakening the SNS to give way to private solutions? Or not? That is the SNS that I still haven’t understood what is desired,” he stated.
For the presidential candidate, first, it is necessary to define what National Health Service the country wants for the future.
“And, after knowing the destination, we will define the course and the planning to get there,” he added.
Gouveia e Melo considered, however, that “none of that is happening, and, therefore, disorganization prevails despite the resources being invested.”
Journalists also questioned the candidate for the presidential elections on January 18, 2026, about the case of the dermatologist at Hospital de Santa Maria who received 700,000 euros for additional surgeries, but Gouveia e Melo refrained from commenting on specific situations.
“I will not talk about little cases and cases. I am concerned with the general problem of the country,” he said.
Regarding his visit to Évora, admiral Gouveia e Melo indicated his intention to highlight that, in this “often forgotten interior territory,” various very positive things are happening, one of which is connecting knowledge to innovation and businesses.
A partnership that the country needs “to incorporate into the economy” to make it “more productive and of greater added value,” prioritizing attracting this “economy to the interior of Portuguese territory.”
“And this university hub does all these things,” he praised, referring to the University of Évora, while also considering that there are “great movements in Alentejo that can truly change” the region, such as the Port of Sines and the “major technological and industrial investments” planned for the area.
