The Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, acknowledged this Tuesday that she did not expect the strikes by pre-hospital emergency technicians and added that the department is working to create “alternative lines of support” in the coming days.
“We cannot promise that from one day to the next we will have faster service, but I can say that there are two measures that we are going to take and that we are already taking. One is that pre-hospital emergency technicians are more dedicated to guiding urgent patients and also, in the next 24/48 hours, deadlines alternative support lines“said Ana Paula Martins on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Digestive Endoscopy Unit of the Social Services of the Lisbon City Council (SSCML), through an agreement with the National Health Service (SNS), which will allow around 5,000 exams. out per year.
The governor explained that understands the fight very wellbecause “prehospital emergency technicians feel treated unfairly.”
“We did not expect it, because we are in good faith and we really want to […] move towards negotiation. We did not expect that, at this time, pre-hospital emergency technicians would refuse to work overtime, but we understand, since the lack of personnel is so great, that overtime ends up being the only way to compensate,” he noted.
The minister also said that, in coordination with the president of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), Sérgio Janeiro, the Ministry of Health plans “more resources available, more ambulances”. “These ambulances are being managed by our partners, the firefighters and the Portuguese Red Cross, whom I take this opportunity to thank very much for not failing us in the most difficult moments,” he highlighted.
Early this Tuesday afternoon, the League of Portuguese Firefighters (LBP) warned that “the collapse” of the patient triage system managed by INEM is generating “extraordinary pressure” on firefighters. Since Wednesday, employees of the INEM, a structure that has less than half of the elements provided for in the framework, have been carrying out overtime strike to request a career review and better salary conditions, a situation that is generating several problems in the pre-hospital system and on line 112.
On Monday, the strike of pre-hospital emergency technicians forced paralysis of 44 means of aid throughout the country during the afternoon shift, aggravating the delays in the attention of line 112. The INEM has already confirmed the impact of the strike and recommended people not to disconnect their calls until they are answered.
After reminding that the European emergency number 112 should be called “only in serious or life-threatening situations,” the institute stressed that “It is important that the caller does not end the call until a professional has answered.since these are always served on a first-come, first-served basis.”
“If the call is on hold, users should wait for it to be answered by CODU professionals, instead of hanging up and calling again. “This action will place the call at the back of the call waiting queue, which will only serve to delay service,” the institute said in a statement.
According to the INEM, 28 calls that are not medical emergencies are answered every hour, 18% of the total calls received at the center.
Source: Observadora
