Health Minister Manuel Pizarro said on Monday that the government has “two separate priorities” for the health sector in the Algarve, namely streamlining human resources and creating new facilities to attract and retain professionals.
“One of them is the optimization of resources for functioning, which gives a greater response to the population, and the other is an inevitable topic – the need for new facilities. We will finally start with the construction of the new Algarve Central Hospital,” Manuel Pizarro assured. in Monchique, in the Faro region.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the “Saúde Aberta” initiative, which this Monday will cover all the municipalities of the Algarve, the official called the organization of healthcare in the region “particularly difficult” due to the fact that it has a very diverse population.
“About half a million people live on a permanent basis, but there are times in the year when there are many more people coming from abroad than living here, and it is necessary to organize care flexibly in order to respond to circumstances,” he pointed out.
For Manuel Pizarro, the construction of the new Central Hospital in the Algarve is “important because it not only creates better conditions for the provision of services to people, but also creates a new enthusiasm for attracting professionals.”
“There is no doubt that we need more healthcare professionals in the Algarve. We are going to announce a schedule that this time does not allow for interruptions in this process because that would be very depressing,” he said.
According to the minister, “new and well-equipped medical centers help attract professionals, while decentralization is very important in the Algarve, because there is no one better than the municipalities that know the local realities and guarantee service and proper service.” work of health centers.
On the other hand, he defended as a “very important” aspect the “strengthening of the umbilical cord” between the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve and the University of the Algarve and its medical training course.
“This connection can also help a lot not only in training, but also in retaining the specialists that we train in the region,” the official said.
Manuel Pizarro also said that he started the Algarve Open Health program in the municipality of Monchique, where there is currently only one doctor, due to the fact that the municipality of the Algarve is currently the most difficult.
“We have fewer doctors than we need, and two doctors on duty are on a long vacation,” he stressed.
The minister added that “the first reason is to try to understand why such a beautiful area [como Monchique] so unattractive for doctors, what problems are listened to by specialists, the City Council and the people.
“There will be solutions that will not appear tomorrow morning, but I am sure that in the coming weeks or months we will find a solution for Monchique and other areas of the Algarve where we have difficulties,” he concluded.
Minister Manuel Pizarro is leading a team from the Ministry of Health that will travel to all municipalities of the Algarve as part of the Open Health initiative, which aims to study ongoing projects and identify needs in the units of the National Health Service. (SNS).
The visit of the Minister of Health, Secretary of State for Health Promotion Margarida Tavares and Secretary of State for Health Ricardo Mestre to 16 Algarve municipalities is the first stage of this initiative, which will be periodic and will visit all regions of the country.
This Monday, government officials will take a look at the facilities and investments being made in the region and engage in dialogue with the public, healthcare professionals, social network authorities and mayors.
After Monchique, the Minister of Health then proceeded to Aljezur and Vila do Bispo, and in the afternoon continued on to Lagos, Portimão and Faro, where the visit ended.
Its two secretaries of state were responsible for visiting other municipalities of the Algarve: Albufeira, Loulé, San Bras de Alportel, Lagoa, Silves, Alcutim, Castro Marim, Vila Real de Santo António, Tavira and Olhão.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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