The Vila Real de Santo António City Council announced today that it will appeal the penalty applied, in the form of a fine, by the Court of Auditors, to members of the executive of the municipality of Vila Real, in exercise in the previous mandate.
This penalty follows the financial audit of the municipality carried out in 2009 and which called into question the procedures relating to surgeries carried out by this municipality between 2007 and 2009 in Cuba.
The Chamber considers, in a statement, that this is "a decision without legal support and only based on assumptions, as the procedure adopted by the Vila Realse municipality is in no way different from those currently being followed by the Government of Portugal in relation to hiring Colombian, Cuban and Uruguayan doctors who are working in the National Health Service (SNS)».
For this reason, the municipality will appeal, under the terms of the law, the "unfair decision" now issued by the Court of Auditors, all the more so as the assumptions under consideration saved hundreds of euros to the State.
This is not, in fact, the only municipality to carry out this type of agreement, and other municipalities have also signed procedures in the exact terms in which the Vila Real de Santo António City Council (VRSA) has done so.
In relation to the medical services provided, and contrary to the opinion of the Court of Auditors, the Algarve Chamber considers that “there was no need to carry out a public tender, since we are facing an agreement established between two public entities (Municipal Council of VRSA and Cuban Medical Services)».
The municipality also defends that, «in addition to having contributed to the resolution of ophthalmological problems in the municipality, this initiative by the municipality of VRSA led to a greater commitment on the part of the National Health System in solving the ophthalmological problems of the Portuguese, which resulted in a substantial reduction of times and waiting lists in this area in Portugal».
The Chamber recalls, in its statement, that, in 2007, there was only one Ophthalmologist at the Central Hospital of Faro, when the number of people registered in the waiting list for the first ophthalmology appointment (diagnostic appointment), according to the Ministry of Health, was approximately 117.000 people.
The Court of Auditors' own report states that, in Faro, the average waiting time for the diagnostic appointment was 36 months and that almost 8 people from the Algarve were waiting for the appointment to be registered in the computer system of the Hospital District of Faro.
«It was in light of this reality that the Municipality of VRSA consulted, in Portugal, some eye clinics, in order to determine the value of cataract surgeries», adds the municipality.
The Ministry of Health of Cuba was also consulted, “it was verified that the values were substantially lower than those practiced in Portugal. In this case, minus 60%. In comparison with the budgets requested from Portuguese clinics, this was the most advantageous proposal for the municipality, according to technical and financial criteria».
In addition, in relation to travel expenses, they were carried out in accordance with public procurement procedures, with services having been purchased only from companies registered in the State Purchasing Platform, and services can thus be contracted in the form of direct award, no need to resort to a public tender.
Taking all this into account, the VRSA City Council once again asks “why the Court of Auditors insists on the legality of the agreements established with Cuba, especially since the State is resorting to clinicians from this and other countries to supply the lack of professionals in the Health Centers and other institutions of the National Health Service».
The municipality also regrets “the fact that it is being condemned for having taken a decision that saved money for the Portuguese State, ended the waiting lists with regard to eye surgeries, responded to the problems of more than 300 families and allowed cementing an agreement with the Republic of Cuba for the coming of 40 doctors, who have been working in Portugal for more than two years».
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