The Order of Physicians (OM) has once again asked the Santa Maria Hospital for “concrete data” on the case of the Portuguese-Brazilian twins so that it can intervene if necessary, President Carlos Cortes told the Lusa agency this Thursday.
According to Carlos Cortes, due to the lack of response to the first request, the OM “insisted again because there are a number of aspects that are important to evaluate,” namely technical issues, but also ethical and deontological ones.
According to the president, “specific, objective, factual data” were requested so that the Medical Association could intervene if necessary, both regarding technical aspects and, if applicable, regarding ethical and deontological aspects.
“We cannot forget that the Order of Physicians plays a very important role from the disciplinary point of view of doctors, and therefore we are analyzing the situation in this context,” he stressed.
For the president, the case of Portuguese-Brazilian twins who came to Portugal in 2020 for treatment with the drug Zolgensma, one of the most expensive in the world for spinal muscular atrophy, costing a total of four million euros, suggests another worry. a situation that concerns “equality and justice.”
“There are rules at SNS, and the basic principles of equality and fairness seem to have been violated and disrespected, judging by the news that has been released about this case,” the president lamented.
The case of the twins was revealed in a TVI report aired in early November, according to which two Portuguese-Brazilian children came to Portugal in 2020 to receive the drug Zolgensma, with suspicions that this was due to the influence of the President of the Republic, which denied any interference in this matter.
In a statement to reporters at the Belem Palace on Monday, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza confirmed that his son Nuno Rebelo de Souza contacted him about the case in 2019.
The head of state stated that the attitude towards the twins’ case was neutral and equal to many others, and said that correspondence in the Presidency of the Republic on this matter was sent to the Office of the Prosecutor General (GPR).
In addition to the PGR and the General Inspectorate of Medical Activities (IGAS), the case is also subject to an internal review by the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Norte, of which the Santa Maria Hospital is part.
The General Inspectorate of Health said today it was listening to medical professionals, hospital managers, Health Ministry authorities and family members of the Portuguese-Brazilian twins as it looked forward to collecting “more evidence” from decision-makers at various levels. .
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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