On Tuesday, the President of the Republic considered it necessary for the National Health Service (NHS) to function well during the summer, but also at other times of the year, because its coverage is essential.
“In the field of health, what do the Portuguese want? First, the emergency plan for the summer is working well, we are entering the peak of summer, which is the months of July and August, so what they want is that wherever they are, those who do not have holidays, those who cannot have them and those who have holidays, wherever they are, they have the necessary and indispensable health coverage,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Another thing that the Portuguese want, the head of state continued, is that “when summer ends and autumn and winter arrive, ‘normal life’ will return, which many have been longing for for a long time, which is a management of the NHS tailored to the needs of the people.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit to the Stanllantis Group’s car factory in Mangualde, in the Viseu district, about the layoffs in the health sector.
The head of state said that The SNS has “two different moments” to resolve, one is “immediately”, during the summer, and the other after the hot season and holidays and the wish for these two moments “is that the SNS works well” and “is well managed.”
“This was the original idea of the institute, which was created to manage the SNS, whatever solution is found for the future, which guarantees that the SNS is a fundamental part of Health in Portugal,” he warned.
Asked about the Viseu hospital, whose pediatric emergency service has been closed to the open air at night since June 1 due to a lack of pediatricians, and whose board of directors resigned, the PR stated that “There are problems that are structural and have been occurring for a long time”.
“And it has to do with the reorganisation and adjustment of health structures, so it is not enough to ensure that in summer there is a response to the needs of the Portuguese and the tourists who are here, but above all of the Portuguese,” he said.
Marcelo argued that “So it is necessary to ensure that there is something for the future, beyond summer, autumn, winter.In the coming years, what was planned two years ago, which was a readjustment in the management of the SNS to improve what does not work and go further in what are the needs that still remain to be satisfied.”
Source: Observadora
