Cape Verdean doctors defend investment in policy formation and continuity

The president of the Order of Physicians of Cape Verde (OMCV), Danielson da Veiga, believes the country has made “some mistakes” in terms of healthcare since independence and defends the emphasis on medical training and policy continuity.

“Since independence, Cape Verde has made some mistakes in terms of its health program,” the doctor told Lusa, although he acknowledged that in practical terms the country has made progress thanks to the resilience of its people. .

“But the doctor receives little money, does not have time to devote himself to his family, the education of his children, and is sometimes in hospitals for almost 24 hours. streets to carry out strikes,” he described, remembering that there has never been a large-scale strike of doctors in the country.

“Although there have always been complaints from doctors, knowing that they are a resilient people, they do a lot with little cost,” he said, noting that Cape Verde has never had a plan for continuous training of doctors.

“I am a specialist in surgery because I chose surgery out of love for this field, but this was not the political orientation of the system,” the president lamented, admitting that some plans in this field had already been made. , but there has never been any continuity from successive governments.

“We are left in this situation and we must count on cooperation,” he said in an interview with Lusa about the December 8 parliamentary approval of a proposed law on human organ donation, retrieval and transplantation.

“Soon we will complete 50 years of independence, now we must have all the specialists in all fields, we have several regional hospitals and count on our specialists, especially the Cape Verdeans,” insisted Danielson da Veiga, for whom there is “hunger training” in Cape Verde.

Therefore, he suggested investing in those who do not have the financial means to study and creating a fund for studying in the country.

The fact is that, as I already said, there are few medical specialists in the country and not enough other medical workers, which is why those who are there work overtime, putting them in a “dead end” regarding their qualifications and confirmation of their competence .

“The public may feel that they have been treated poorly by a doctor, knowing that this doctor was already working 24 hours a day, at the peak of his powers,” he said, therefore demanding “big changes” and “greater interaction” between politicians. and technical experts from all areas.

According to information on the official website of OMCV, 723 doctors and 60 healthcare structures are registered in the order.

Two years ago, the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), in partnership with the University of Coimbra, brought to market the first 17 doctors trained in the country.

The government is also implementing the project of the National Hospital of Cape Verde (HNCV), which is to be built in the Achada area of ​​Limpo, municipality of Praia, with a maximum capacity of 134 beds, 12 of which are for intensive care.

The division’s budget is 7.2 billion escudos (65 million euros). It is expected to be completed (although work has not yet started) within four years. The unit’s goal is to improve the standard of healthcare and reduce the amount of treatment abroad.

According to the government, the future health infrastructure will not replace the country’s two central public hospitals – Agostinho Neto in Praia and Batista de Souza in Sao Vicente – but rather will complement existing offerings and maximize resources.