“The PSD government did worse than the absolute majority of the PS in the National Health Service (SNS),” stated Mariana Mortágua to journalists following a meeting with the management of Almada-Seixal Local Health Unit.
Speaking outside Garcia de Orta hospital, the coordinator of BE remarked that this is an example of how problems in the SNS largely stem from a lack of healthcare professionals.
“The blanket is too small. On the south bank, particularly in obstetrics, there are services that, when Garcia de Orta is not functioning because it is closed, no other hospital provides. It is not a network service; it is a service lacking the capacity to cover the entire territory and provide a response,” she emphasized.
Garcia de Orta is one of the five public hospitals the government intends to shift to Public-Private Partnerships management starting in 2026, an option criticized by BE, which accuses the executive of failing to provide solutions for the SNS.
“After 11 months where they only managed to worsen the service, the only solution they have to offer is to transfer roles to the private sector, handing over to the private what the SNS needs to be capable of doing,” stated Mariana Mortágua.
She also expressed regret over what she sees as underinvestment in the careers of healthcare professionals and the reliance on temporary doctors to ensure patient care.
This represents a “source of expenditure and inefficiency of the SNS,” Mariana Mortágua asserted, arguing that the alternative demands investment, but an investment that “at the end of the day, is cheaper (…) than an SNS in patches that relies on private services.”
“It is also related to management models,” she added, advocating for strengthening the autonomy of health units to make decisions that would retain healthcare professionals.
