The CDU has committed itself to saving the SNS and returning the train to the Tua Valley

PCP secretary-general Paulo Raimundo said on Tuesday the CDU was committed to saving the National Health Service (SNS) and warned that the loss of premises at the Chavez hospital was a portrait of the country.

On the day dedicated to Trás os Montes, the communist leader also advocated the return of the train to the Tua Valley.

“We are committed to saving the SNS, and to do this, other options are needed than those currently being implemented, namely options for dismantling the SNS, such as closing the facilities here in the hospital, which, unfortunately, is the portrait of the country,” he ruled.

In Chaves, the CDU delegation, led by Paulo Raimundo and the head of the legislative list of the Vila Real district, Luis Ferreira, walked through some streets of the city to the doors of the Chávez Hospital, part of the local medical department of Trás os Montes and Alto Douro.

In early November, Chavez’s department suspended pediatric and orthopedic emergency care, as well as hospitalizations in these services, due to a shortage of doctors, namely the inability to work overtime beyond 150 hours. provided by law.

However, there have been several periods of disruption to the pediatric emergency service since Easter 2023.

The orthopedic service was restored at the beginning of the year, but the pediatric emergency department is only open from 8:00 to 20:00, Monday to Friday, and is closed on weekends with no appointments.

To address the health problem, especially in the interior of the country, Paulo Raimundo advocated special measures that address structural problems and prevent “total extinction.”

“The central problem of the SNA is the shortage of professionals, we must invest in measures that allow us to retain professionals, and this makes us respect them, value them and improve their working conditions,” he said, highlighting the SNA proposal. The CDU is undergoing a “50% salary increase to secure professionals exclusively in the SNS.”

From Chaves to Mirandela, in the Bragança region, Paulo Raimundo wanted to see with his own eyes the train that had stood at the station in this city for years.

“We have a line, a train that is available, and 10 million euros that have been transferred to a private entity, what is the difficulty in solving this problem? There is no government structure to solve this problem, no government capacity to solve this problem? “, he wondered.

The communist leader spoke of a mobility plan for the Tua Valley, which included the return of the train, but for which there is still no date for implementation on the ground.

“Management must be handed over to the CoP once and for all, if the private sector does not live up to what was contracted and never will, then it is not a business problem, it is a mobility problem, and the private sector will always seek business and not necessarily respond to mobility, if this is the case, then the problem should be resolved quickly,” he said.

The mobility plan is the main analogue of the construction of the Foz Tua Dam, but the dam is already in operation and the population continues to be without a train, despite the necessary investments.

The equipment is ready, the tourism part has been handed over to operator Mario Ferreira, and a package worth 10 million euros has been provided by EDP, the former concessionaire of the dam.

The tourist part also includes boat rides on the new reservoir, which flooded about 20 kilometers of the old Tua line, which has since been deactivated and restored to continue operation over a distance of just over 30 kilometers between Brunheda and Mirandela.

“We will continue to condemn and mobilize the population to meet this demand. The country has funds, there are resources that need to be put to the service of the population, and this is a big problem,” emphasized Paulo Raimundo.