“The absurdity, with almost Kafkaesque contours, arises when, in the face of this tragedy, those who sought to fulfill their professional and ethical duty amid chaos and particularly adverse conditions are blamed. A doctor and an emergency technician, who agreed to be on duty that tumultuous day, are unexpectedly pointed out as guilty, turned into true scapegoats in a shocking inversion of reality,” writes Carlos Cortes in a Facebook post today.
The statement refers to the conclusions of the report by the Health Activities General Inspectorate (IGAS) concerning the delay in aiding a 53-year-old patient from Pombal who died on November 4 of last year. The findings were released this Wednesday.
On that day, the Ministry of Health, in reference to IGAS’s conclusions, stated that “the possible delay in the arrival of INEM aid, contrary to what some suggested, is not attributed to a strike at INEM, nor to a delay in processing the call by the CODU [Urgent Patients Guidance Center].”
Citing the IGAS report version it received, the Ministry notes that “the causes of delay are different” and related to the alleged “lack of diligence, care, and thoroughness” of two professionals involved in the aid process.
According to the report, these professionals “did not act according to the best practices of medical emergency” and were required to adopt “a quicker and more expedited attitude, particularly in triage and dispatch of resources.”
For the president, “it is deeply revolting and dishonest that in a country where the true culprits are often spared criticism and consequences, it is the workers who face real daily challenges that are sacrificed on the altar of current conveniences.”
According to Carlos Cortes, it is “imperative and urgent to end this perverse logic. Public institutions have the duty to be accountable with transparency and seriousness. The real authors of faults must be identified and held accountable, not those who, despite adversity, performed the mission of saving lives, attending to patients.”
This incident dates back to November 4, 2024, when two strikes occurred simultaneously—a pre-hospital emergency technicians’ strike over overtime and another in the public administration.
According to the president, this was a strike “widely announced, predictable and of general knowledge. Except, it seems, to the authorities responsible for ensuring the basic and minimum operation of the national emergency medical system.”
Cortes pointed out that there were “thousands of unanswered calls, chaos installed, widespread anguish, severely compromised aid, and amid this dramatic scenario, one known fatality in Pombal.”
More than half of the 7,326 calls made to INEM on November 4, 2024, the day when the technicians’ strike had the most significant impact on the institute’s activity, were abandoned, concluded an inspection.
Lusa | 17:28 – 25/06/2025
More than half of the 7,326 calls made to INEM on November 4, 2024, the day when the technicians’ strike had the most significant impact on the institute’s activity, were abandoned, concluded an IGAS inspection.
