“Our preliminary results are 80%. And, above all, it was felt in terms of consultations in health centres and scheduled consultations in hospitals,” Fnam president Joana Bordalo e Sá told Lusa, citing preliminary data. According to her, hospital operating theatres are closed, although they are operating with only minimum services.
Joana Bordalo e Sá indicated that in the north, hospitals such as Padre Américo (Penafiel), São João, Santo António and the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (IPO) in Porto have practically suspended scheduled surgery. In Alto Minho and the Braga area, health centres have recorded a participation rate of close to 100%.
Also, in the Central region, the family health units (USF) of the local health units (ULS) of Coimbra, Baixo Mondego and Viseu have stopped. In the south, the Hospital Doutor José Maria Grande (Portalegre) has not performed any surgery. The USFs of the ULS São José (Lisbon) have fully adhered to the strike.
The union leader accused minister of health Ana Paula Martins and prime minister Luís Montenegro of inaction and lack of dialogue with doctors, harshly criticising the proposal for forced mobility in regional accident and emergency departments.
“Ana Paula Martins and Luís de Montenegro have done nothing to change this situation. And, in fact, they are not negotiating with doctors,” said Joana Bordalo e Sá, denouncing what she considers to be an “imposition” by the government.
The main criticism is directed at the proposal for forced mobility for regional emergency service departments, especially in the areas of gynaecology and obstetrics. According to Fnam, this measure compromises local care for pregnant women and newborns, especially outside large urban centres.
Joana Bordalo e Sá also accused the minister of health of “lying” in parliament when she guaranteed that forced mobility would not go ahead. “She is taking the path of imposition rather than dialogue,” she said, also holding the prime minister responsible: “Luís Montenegro ends up being complicit in this lack of truth, since he keeps her as minister of health.”
The replacement of the president of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM – the country’s ambulance service), Sérgio Janeiro, and the delays in oncology, pointed out by the Health Regulatory Authority, were cited as examples of the minister’s alleged lack of competence.
There is more than enough evidence that she is not competent to be in charge of health and, as such, she should be replaced,” she argued.
The Fnam also accused the Government of disrespecting the negotiation process, claiming that the diplomas under discussion had already been previously approved by the Cabinet. The union leader added that there will be an online meeting with the ministry of health today at 3:15 p.m., admitting that she has no specific knowledge about the topics to be discussed.
The Common Front of trade unions is today, from midnight, holding a public administration strike against the government, which it accuses of degrading working conditions and disinvesting in public services. Teachers, educators and school assistants, doctors, nurses and health service assistants, public transport workers, tax inspectors and officials, judicial officials, among others, are expected to join the strike.
Platform with Lusa
