The president of the PS Algarve today expressed his "strong concern" with regard to the possible consequences of the reassessment of the National Emergency and Emergency Network (RNEU), having considered that, if implemented, the proposal will have a disastrous impact on the quality of services. health, with damage to the populations and to the development of the region».
According to the report of the RNEU Reassessment Commission, the closure of the Basic Emergency Services (SUB) located in Lagos and Loulé is planned, as well as the possible suppression of one of the Immediate Life Support (SIV) ambulances located in Tavira and the Loulé-based helicopter.
«The eventual closure of the SUBs in Lagos and Loulé will cause the destruction of the Algarve network, which the document itself recognizes as unique, with disastrous impacts for the development strategy of the region and populations, as well as an overload for the services that are proposed as alternative», considers António Eusébio, to underline that the closure of public responses in healthcare in the Algarve, will have strong repercussions on the security and image of the region, with serious consequences in terms of national and international tourist demand.
"The seasonality associated with tourist demand imposes the provision and qualification of health services, but the proposed reassessment will penalize the region in terms of accessibility and quality of public responses", denounces the regional leader of the PS, expressing solidarity with the directly affected municipalities, arguing that they should have been heard on the issue.
Considering that equity and accessibility to healthcare by populations residing in areas covered by the RNEU reassessment proposal are seriously penalized due to the constraints on mobility and the public transport network, the PS Algarve warns above all about the inevitable overload of the Emergency Services (SU) of the Hospital Center of the Barlavento Algarvio and Hospital de Faro, due to the redirection of emergency and urgent care to those units.
The aforementioned SU are already experiencing an excess of demand, as mentioned by the Ministry of Health's own study, according to which, in 2010, the Algarve was the second region in the country to record the highest number of emergency episodes per 1000 inhabitants, surpassing the national average and ahead of the Centro Region, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and the North.
"We are before the implementation of an ideological program of manifest attack on the Social State, structured in mere punctual and random measures, without strategy and consistency in the face of existing realities, based only on eminently economic measures", criticizes the socialist leader, to remember that, this proposal substantially reduces the network of emergencies compared to 2007/2008, which was contested by the parties that support the current government.
«The Algarve and the Algarve people deserve more respect», says António Eusébio, to point out that the PS Algarve requires the maintenance of the functioning of the current public responses in healthcare, with a focus on improving the respective quality and accessibility, while at the same time expressing its willingness to jointly respond to the proposal in question, challenging the political forces in the region to fight the destruction of the region's emergency and emergency network.
In conclusion, the PS Algarve also questions the Government about the real options it intends to assume for the Algarve in terms of health policies, and how these fit into the region's development strategy.
The Algarve has a Pre-hospital Emergency Network equipped with four SIV ambulances, headquartered in Lagos, Quarteira, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António, three emergency and resuscitation medical vehicles in Portimão, Albufeira and Faro and an INEM Helicopter headquartered at the heliport of Loulé. The Hospital Emergency Network has four SUBs, located in Lagos, Albufeira, Loulé and Vila Real de Santo António and two Hospital Emergency Services in Portimão and Faro.
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