PCP/Azores today warned of the lack of direction, strategy and health planning in the archipelago, considering the situation “very difficult” due to the fire that struck Ponta Delgada Hospital in May.
“The lack of direction, strategy and planning, and the disinvestment in the Regional Health Service (SRS), means that Azoreans are increasingly finding it difficult to access the medical care they need, due to increased waiting lists for specialist appointments and surgeries, as well as a shortage of doctors, nurses, technicians and operational assistants,” said a statement from the Directorate of the Regional Organization of the Azores (DORAA).
For the party, it is impossible to hide the devaluation of professionals, “both in terms of salaries and in terms of job stability and incentives to retain them.”
“The fire that destroyed the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, left the archipelago in a very difficult situation, with enormous uncertainty about the reconstruction project, costs and estimated time,” the statement said.
PCP/Azores adds that “while no one knows for sure what to expect in terms of restoring normalcy to healthcare provision” in the region, there are many questions that arise.
“Why don’t we invest in SRS? Why don’t we invest in increasing incentives for doctors and nurses to stay in the area? Why don’t we hire more diagnostic technicians, administrative assistants, and operational assistants?” he asks.
The party also questions, among other things, why precarious employment continues with fake contracts and green receipts, and why “there is no maintenance of the buildings and equipment that provide services to users.”
These are the questions the regional government is asking. [PSD/CDS-PP/PPM] He does not respond, and does not want to face the problems that question the Azoreans’ right to health.”
The Azores communists stress “the need for serious investment in health, ensuring decent wages, permanent employment and fair labor rights, equipment and infrastructure with regular maintenance and new equipment.”
They claim that “only in this way will it be possible for Azoreans to have access to a family doctor, specialist consultations or diagnostic tests.”
According to the DORAA memo, “Everyone said that in the face of the HDES fire it was necessary to take action, but what is certain is that the solutions found are insufficient and do not enhance or defend the SRS.”
The fire at the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, which broke out on May 4 and caused losses estimated at 24 million euros, led to the transfer of all patients admitted to the hospital to different locations in the Azores, Madeira and the mainland.
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