Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated on Wednesday concerning the alleged cuts in hospital expenses, “the word ‘cuts’ is not correct,” emphasizing that “there is no directive to cut anything.” He noted, however, that there is a “more demanding” orientation related to being “efficient” and “optimizing resources.”
When questioned about the statements from the socialist leader, José Luís Carneiro, regarding the alleged cuts in hospital expenses, Luís Montenegro remarked to journalists: “What needs to be said is that we are making a very, very large investment in the Health sector. The health budget program today represents about 18 billion euros, around 10 billion euros more than what it was ten years ago.”
He added: “This signifies a very significant financial effort from all of us, and therefore, what is demanded at this moment is that we can be even more efficient, that we can be even more capable of optimizing the many financial resources we have today allocated to the Health system and the National Health Service (SNS) in particular.”
The prime minister also mentioned that “in health services, there should be no reduction, neither in service nor in the availability of access for citizens.”
Luís Montenegro further emphasized that it is “false that there is any directive aiming to decrease the capacity to offer services and even to recover the speed with which they are provided.”
“What is true, however, is that we all have to make an effort, including in the health system, to be even more efficient in the use of public funds. Indeed, from efficiency, we can achieve better management of the very significant investment we make, allowing us to save money that enables better salaries and thus greater attractiveness for the careers of professionals who also serve in the SNS,” he stated.
Regarding the alleged cuts in hospital expenses, the head of the government said that “the word ‘cut’ is not correct.” “There is no directive to cut anything. There is a directive that is, naturally, very demanding, but that, I believe, deserves everyone’s understanding in the sense of being more efficient and optimizing resources more.”
