“The minister must come and explain herself. We will necessarily summon her to parliament, although without much hope that she can solve anything, as we have realized she is more about political rhetoric than real solutions,” criticized Livre spokesperson Rui Tavares in statements to Lusa.
The deputy spoke on the sidelines of the presentation of independent candidate Carla Castelo for the Oeiras City Hall, where Livre, BE, and Volt are in the coalition “Evoluir Oeiras.”
Asked about the announcement of the closure of that emergency unit, made on Saturday night by the Ministry of Health, Rui Tavares stated that “one can only react with much exasperation towards this minister who, like Luís Montenegro, appeared saying that this was all easy to solve.”
“We see that things in health are getting worse. There is no prospect of improvements, especially in the South Bank [of the Tagus, in the Lisbon region], no prospect of finally starting the construction of the Seixal Hospital, which is the medium and long-term solution,” he argued.
According to the Livre leader, reports from citizens of the Setúbal district indicate that the situation in the health sector “is indeed becoming very serious.”
Also present at the event, national BE leader Fabian Figueiredo considered it “quite illustrative and representative of this Government’s policy that the only emergency unit on the southern bank closed on the day the Government marked 100 days of its administration.”
“It has been 100 days degrading the National Health Service, 100 days of emergency closures,” he criticized.
The former BE parliamentary leader also highlighted that the PSD/CDS-PP executive, “when it began governing, said it would solve the problems of the National Health Service.”
“What we have witnessed, in reality, has been a degradation of the National Health Service, uncertainty, particularly in areas like the southern bank, but also nationwide. The number of patients without a family doctor has increased, the response in the health sector today is worse, and this is a hallmark of the Government,” he lamented.
In the bloc’s view, the country “needs a Government that urgently addresses the problems of health, housing, and public schools, rather than entertaining the country with non-existent issues.”
On Saturday night, the Government announced in a statement that the Obstetrics and Gynecology emergencies at Garcia de Orta Hospital in Almada were closed due to a lack of doctors, being the only hospital on the southern bank providing the service this weekend.
With all three obstetrics/gynecology emergency services closed, “all patients are being directed to Lisbon hospitals,” announced the Ministry of Health in a note sent to Lusa.
According to the ministry, the unexpected closure of the Garcia de Orta Hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynecology emergency was due to a lack of professionals.
“This weekend, without any forewarning, and at the last minute, service-providing doctors who regularly ensure that the Setúbal Peninsula populations receive the services they are due, expressed their unavailability,” the statement read.
The authority assures that the Executive Directorate of the SNS is monitoring the situation “to ensure that pregnant patients needing medical care are transferred and attended to safely.”
