“The Seixal City Council views with surprise this sudden dismissal of Dr. Maria Teresa Luciano, to whom I extend a word of solidarity for her work as president of the Garcia de Orta hospital and now of the Almada – Seixal Local Health Unit,” said Paulo Silva in statements to Lusa news agency.
In the mayor’s opinion, “nothing would justify this dismissal” since the current administration had achieved a good relationship with health professionals, user commissions, and city councils “in a posture of dialogue with everyone.”
The existing problems, Paulo Silva argued, are due to conflicts between the Government and health professionals due to the lack of career appreciation, but also to the fact that Garcia de Orta Hospital serves a large population volume.
“It was designed for 200,000 people, and the population of the two municipalities of Almada and Seixal is already about 350,000 people, so it is impossible for this infrastructure to respond, making the construction of the Seixal hospital increasingly necessary and urgent,” stressed Paulo Silva.
The Mayor of Seixal also said that this change will exacerbate existing problems and added that he will request a meeting with the Minister of Health to address this issue as well as the construction of the Seixal Hospital.
On Tuesday, the executive board of the National Health Service decided to remove the administration of ULSAS, which includes the Garcia de Orta Hospital (Almada) and the Almada-Seixal Health Centers Group, in the Setúbal district.
Teresa Luciano will be replaced by Jorge Seguro Sanches, a former Socialist government member who held positions as Deputy Secretary of State for National Defense from 2019 to 2022, and Secretary of State for Energy from 2015 to 2018, in governments led by António Costa.
Following Teresa Luciano’s dismissal, service directors of Garcia de Orta Hospital, coordinators of health centers in the Almada-Seixal group, nurse managers, and technical coordinators signed a petition contesting the decision.
The health professionals say they disagree with the decision to dismiss the Board of Directors of the Almada-Seixal Local Health Unit (ULSAS) and reiterate “full confidence in the current management team and in the continuity of ongoing projects.”
In their opinion, the work that has been developed by the team led by Teresa Luciano was positive, so they express their solidarity with all members.
The document is signed by 36 service directors of Garcia de Orta Hospital, coordinators of 23 Family Health Units, 16 nurse managers, and nine technical coordinators.
The dismissal of the administration also received criticism from the Mayor of Almada, Inês de Medeiros, who considered the way the process was conducted unacceptable.
“I was totally surprised. We consider the way this is announced unacceptable,” said Inês de Medeiros in statements to Lusa news agency, expressing solidarity with the dismissed president.
Without questioning the competence of Teresa Luciano’s replacement, Inês de Medeiros considers that the procedure does not show respect for the work done, and argues that “this is not the way to deal with municipalities,” thus criticizing the fact that mayors were not heard, as well as the hospital teams.
The Socialist mayor emphasized that ULSAS was in a reorganization process, so she considers that “this change, regardless of the quality of the new administration, creates enormous disruption in a process that was going well.”
