The parliamentary agenda on the official website of the Assembly of the Republic indicates that the hearing of General João Cartaxo Alves is scheduled for 16:00, behind closed doors, while the hearing of the Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, is set for 18:30 and will be open to the public.
The hearings are based on two urgent requests submitted by the Chega and PS parties to inquire about General João Cartaxo Alves’s support for emergency medical helicopter transport with the INEM.
The proposal to hear from the Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, was made by centrist deputy João Almeida during the parliamentary Defense committee debate last week.
João Almeida criticized the PS for submitting a request with accusations against the minister, who is also the president of CDS-PP, without intending to hear from him.
Recently, the government had to rely on the Air Force to ensure emergency transport, as a temporary measure due to Gulf Med’s failure to launch operations on July 1st, as outlined in their contract with INEM.
Since the 10th, the Air Force has made four aircraft available 24 hours a day for emergency medical transport: two helicopters (a Black Hawk and a Merlin EH-101) and two planes.
The medical emergency air transport will be provided by Air Force aircraft and teams starting Tuesday, until the public tender launched by INEM receives approval from the Court of Auditors.
The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, admitted the government could have managed the international public tender better, while Simon Camilleri, president of Gulf Med Aviation Services, blamed the government and INEM for the delays.
When questioned about the Air Force helicopters’ inability to land at hospital helipads due to their size—a problem highlighted regarding the government’s decision—Nuno Melo stated on the 9th that the issue lies with the “infrastructure that eventually will need to be adapted for potential emergency actions.”
The Merlin EH-101 helicopters are larger compared to those usually used by INEM, measuring nearly 20 meters long and 18 meters wide, with a capacity to transport 30 passengers or 16 stretchers.
The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters measure 19.50 meters long and 16.15 meters wide, can carry up to 12 passengers, and are used for air transport and firefighting missions.
In the first 15 days of July, emergency medical aircraft conducted 29 missions, five of which involved the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) apparatus, according to the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).
