After meeting with the board of directors of Hospital Santa Maria in Lisbon, José Luís Carneiro expressed that Ana Paula Martins should focus on managing hospital emergency coordination to ensure response capacity during the winter season.
“Being currently in primary care is naturally positive because better-equipped primary care leads to better hospital care responses, but I would say the real response the minister should aim for at this stage is ensuring that hospital emergency response is correctly planned,” he stated.
When questioned on whether the tour initiated by Minister Ana Paula Martins might be overdue, José Luís Carneiro affirmed it seemed so.
“From my perspective, a minister who has been in office for nearly two years, and only now, after two years, reaches out to primary health care… I would say that was where she should have started two years ago, but better late than never,” he remarked.
Accompanied by deputy Mariana Vieira da Silva and Lisbon City Councilor Alexandra Leitão, Carneiro urged the Government to consider the PS’s proposal for managing hospital emergencies, anticipating “a harsh winter,” necessitating “emergency hospital coordination levels capable of meeting such demand.”
Asked if it signals a problem that in November stocks of high-dose flu vaccines are already exhausted, Carneiro agreed, noting the planned 10% cut in the acquisition of goods and services in the National Health Service (SNS).
“Considering the execution indicators of this hospital we are visiting, there has been an increase in expenditure on acquiring certain goods and services, so it would be expected to have a spending forecast for next year that could ensure responses, and what we have on the table is a reduction,” he lamented.
After a day focused on healthcare, visiting associations and health centers in Loures, Azambuja, and Lisbon, José Luís Carneiro noted that the ongoing reform initiated by the PS Government was being positively evaluated in the sector.
“The discussion with experienced professionals in the SNS indicates that local health units are a good institutional experience for meeting the needs of our local communities,” he stated.
During these statements to journalists, Carneiro was questioned about any response received from Luís Montenegro regarding the letters sent since July, on the day it was reported he had sent another regarding TAP.
The PS Secretary-General stated that by sending these letters, he fulfills a duty as the opposition leader, “drawing the Prime Minister’s attention to matters concerning citizens” and informing the public.
Carneiro sent a letter to Luís Montenegro about the TAP privatization, advocating for the “safeguarding of national interest and economic sovereignty,” a letter dated Friday, initially reported by Público and subsequently accessed by Lusa agency.
In this letter, Carneiro requests a meeting with Montenegro to “analyze the process status and discuss safeguards necessary to ensure TAP remains an engine of our economy and cohesion.”
