Prehospital ambulance service specialists ask for stability in INEM

The union of pre-hospital emergency care professionals (STEPH) expressed surprise on Friday at the turnaround in the appointment of the INEM president and called for stability in the institution.

In a response sent to Lusa following the departure of Vitor Almeida and the appointment of Sergio Dias Janeiro as president of the National Institute of Emergency Medicine (INEM), the Union states that the institution “needs stability and [que] These episodes do not help professionals feel secure about a certain future.”

The Health Ministry has appointed doctor Sergio Dias Janeiro as INEM president after the previous candidate, Vitor Almeida, cancelled his decision to accept the position, the ministry announced today.

A statement from the Ministry of Health explained that “in contacts with the authorities last week,” anesthesiologist Vitor Almeida “came to the conclusion that the conditions for assuming the position of President of INEM were not met for professional reasons and given the current context of the Institute.”

In response, STEPH recalls its demands, namely a review of the career with an adjustment of the remuneration index, “without which the announced competition for 200 emergency physicians will not attract candidates.”

“We are waiting for an announcement of measures that meet our demands and can bring stability to INEM,” the union says, demanding “concrete answers” and not instability.

In a note published today, the Ministry of Health said that, given the resignation of Vitor Almeida, it had decided to appoint doctor Sergio Agostinho Dias Janeiro on a 60-day basis due to a vacancy in the position.

The ministry said it would now announce a competition with the Commission for the Recruitment and Selection of Personnel for Public Administration (CReSAP).

Sérgio Dias Janeiro is a physician specializing in Internal Medicine and currently Director of the Internal Medicine Service at the Hospital das Forças Armadas, where he served as Clinical Director of the Emergency Services from 2022 to 2023.

Vitor Almeida was appointed president of INEM on July 4 after Luis Meira resigned from the post over a dispute over the tender for emergency medical helicopters.

Luis Meira resigned on July 1 after trading accusations over competition for air transport services for patients.

The Ministry of Health criticised INEM the day before for allowing the deadline for the international public tender for the purchase of helicopters to expire, forcing the company to issue a new direct contract.

In response, INEM guaranteed that it would “ensure the continuity of the emergency medical helicopter service through a new contract concluded with the current operator, within the amount approved by the previous government in October 2023.”