The President of the Republic said this Thursday that he is not aware of any steps taken by the Ministry of Health in the case of Portuguese-Brazilian twins with spinal muscular atrophy, after sending the relevant dossier to the government.
“Following the news that emerged today, the President of the Republic confirms that he was not aware of any steps taken with the Ministry of Health regarding the case of the Portuguese-Brazilian twins, after sending the dossier to the Prime Minister’s Office on October 31. 2019,” says a note published on the official website of the President of the Republic on the Internet.
TVI reported this Thursday that Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, son of the President of the Republic, met with the then Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, at the Ministry of Health about the case.
On Monday, the President of the Republic confirmed that his son contacted him about the situation of the Portuguese-Brazilian twins, who later received one of the most important medicines in the world at the Santa Maria Hospital, and stated that the treatment he gave to the case was neutral , like many others.
Speaking to journalists in the Palacio de Belem in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke about the correspondence in the Presidency of the Republic regarding this case between 21 and 31 October 2019, noting that it began with an email from his son Nuno Rebelo de Souza sent him the elements, which he said were sent to the Office of the Attorney General (PGR).
According to the head of state, “it is obvious that the President of the Portuguese Republic, faced with a citizen’s request, like any other, gives the most neutral order and the same as he gave in ‘n’ cases”, without there being “intervention of the President of the Republic in connection with with the fact that he is a son or not a son.”
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, the Civil Chamber of the President of the Republic contacted the Santa Maria Hospital, informed Nuno Rebelo de Souza that the response capacity was limited, depended on medical decisions and had priority for the people of Portugal, and sent a dossier to the positions of Prime Minister and State Secretary for Portuguese Communities.
“They will ask: what about after I became chairman of the Council of Ministers? I don’t know that. I don’t know, to be honest, what happened next, I don’t have the slightest idea,” he added.
“What happened next, I don’t know, that’s why the PGR is investigating. And I hope, as I said a few days ago, that it will be complete to understand what has happened since he left Belém,” he confirmed. .
Regarding his son’s involvement in this matter, he considered that he “wanted to support, wanted to represent, sent the case”, said he did not know if he contacted anyone from the Ministry of Health, and that he assumed he did not mention neither his name nor the relationship between them, which would be “completely unacceptable.”
The case was covered by TVI reports broadcast since November 3, which reported that two twins living in Brazil, daughters of a Portuguese-Brazilian mother and having in the meantime acquired Portuguese citizenship, came to Portugal in 2019 to receive the drug Zolgensma. for atrophy of the spinal muscles, the total cost of which was four million euros.
The GRR confirmed this on November 24 in response to the Lusa agency, which began an investigation into the case.
The case is also being analyzed by the General Inspectorate of Medical Activities (IGAS) and is the subject of an internal review at the Hospital University of Northern Lisbon, of which the Santa Maria Hospital is part.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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