The leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL), Rui Rocha, considered that the presence of the President of the Republic next to the Prime Minister during the recent visit to the Santa Maria Hospital “has no practical effect” and “does not solve any problems” of health care.
“This is not the first time that the President of the Republic has met with Prime Ministers,” Rui Rocha stressed, recalling that “before he was with Luis Montenegro, he was also with António Costa on health issues.”
“I ask whether the fact that the President of the Republic at that time discussed with António Costa issues also related to health resolved any health problems in Portugal? I would say no,” the IL leader said.
“So, unfortunately, it seems to me that it has no practical effect,” he stressed, recalling that “the problems continue, Portuguese pregnant women still do not find open maternity emergency care centers, often over 200 kilometers” and “they still do not know which hospitals they can go to,” a situation that he considers “frankly unacceptable” in a country “that we want to develop.” Therefore, he concluded, “the presence of the President of the Republic was of little value.”