“In the opinion of PAN, the Minister of Health has long been unable to continue in this role. I recall that Marta Temido [former Minister of Health of the PS government], for far less – and I do not trivialize what is a person’s life – resigned,” the official said to journalists in Vila Nova de Gaia (district of Porto), where they attended a rally for João Paulo Correia (PS) for mayor, supported by PAN.
For the sole PAN deputy, “these successive cases, not only the death of two children, two babies, but also other deaths that occurred, were clear from the IGAS [Inspectorate-General of Health Activities] report, and more recently this person who was forgotten, should lead to her accountability and resignation.”
“To continue having pregnant women giving birth in ambulances, to have people forgotten in hospitals who die after seven hours, this is absolutely inadmissible in a 21st century country, and that is why PAN advocates alternatives and believes that Luís Montenegro should also assume his political responsibilities.”
On Friday, concerning the IGAS conclusion, which links the death of a man in Mogadouro, Bragança, to the INEM strike, the President of the Republic stated that the multiplication of cases creates a “diffuse idea that things are not going well” and places “great strain” on the Minister of Health.
For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, “it is worth looking at the whole” of cases and “drawing some conclusions” and, therefore, he promised to address the country’s health situation in the coming weeks.
Questioned about whether the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, should take political consequences, the President of the Republic simply stated that, when failures in the health system’s response arise, “it is not a spokesperson from the Ministry, it is not a spokesperson from the Institute” who appears to explain, but rather the minister herself, without further details.
“I am verifying this, but later I will say how I see the overall program that exists and how it might perhaps be resolved,” he concluded.
