The order is “perplexed” by the decision of the Aveiro hospital to hold shifts due to the lack of doctors

This Thursday, the President of the Order of Physicians protested that the administration of the Aveiro Hospital had drawn up emergency medical care schedules in the absence of doctors, adding that this would require a “decisive” intervention on the part of this body.

“I am perplexed when they tell me that these teams are being formed without doctors on duty, and this is not a normal situation,” Carlos Cortes told Luza after an afternoon meeting at the Aveiro hospital with doctors from the department.

The President noted that there are “scientific and technical issues that have not been followed and will be followed,” adding that there are elements on the board of directors that “must ensure compliance with the safety rules that are established and determined by order of doctors.

“We are prepared to make every possible intervention with respect to the board of directors and the clinical members of the board of directors to understand what is happening,” he said, expressing the desire for this situation to be quickly resolved and the scales “tied.” the appropriate teams, taking into account the proposals of the services themselves.”

The president also accused the Aveiro hospital administration of “deceiving the population” because “many ambulance crews are operating below what is considered the safety limit.”

“The public believes there is adequate emergency care available here, but at various times, particularly in surgery and paediatrics, teams are operating below the limits recommended by the Medical Association,” he said.

Carlos Cortes acknowledges that such a situation could occur in an “unforeseen” situation, but emphasizes that the Hospital “must inform the population that there will not be an adequate response, especially in surgery and the pediatric department, and this has not been done.” .

When asked by Lusa about this, the Aveiro hospital administration refused to make any statement.

Earlier this month, the board of directors of the Hospital de Aveiro said it had been forced to intervene by drawing up an alternative schedule to guarantee the provision of surgical care in the emergency department of the Hospital de Aveiro during the first week “to ensure the safety of emergency and emergency patients.”

This decision, according to the administration, was due to the fact that the leadership of the General Surgery Service presented a proposal to close surgical emergency departments at night and completely close them on weekends throughout October.

Hospital officials also said at the time that the refusal of many doctors to work overtime in the emergency department was creating “scheduling constraints, particularly in the specialties of general surgery, pediatrics and gynecology/obstetrics.” a situation that even led to the closure of the emergency gynecology/obstetrics department and the maternity ward on the night of October 2nd.

Answering questions from journalists, the President also refused to comment on the proposal of the Ministry of Health, presented this Thursday to trade unions, to pay a bonus of 500 euros per month for doctors providing emergency care and the possibility of choosing 35 hours a week.